He's too Yankee for You!
by mookies
Summary: According to Eri and Yuka, pretty girls are not supposed to hang out with delinquents. Too bad Kagome never really bothered to listen to them. Inu/Kag. AU.
1. our advice to our best friend

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.**

This is my first fic revolving solely on Inuyasha. To say I am excited is an understatement. :D

Important things to know: Set in the modern era, and everyone is in high school, meaning there are no green sailor uniforms here (unless they are mentioned in a flashback or such)! Oh, and for anyone who doesn't know, a yankee is a delinquent.

Enjooooy~

* * *

The problem with Higurashi Kagome was that she was too stubborn.

She had other notable qualities: she was kind (but had a nasty temper when provoked), very pretty (everyone would agree with this), and overall, a genuinely fun person to be around.

But she was stubborn. In fact, she was probably the most stubborn woman on the planet, and if she wasn't, then she was easily a top contender for the spot.

Because of this, Eri couldn't help but feel a bit worried as she tried to find a simple way to tell Kagome what she needed to tell her. She wanted to be frank but delicate with her wording, because if she knew her friend as well as she thought she did, the conversation would only become an epic battle of heated words, strained tempers, and evil glares if she said the wrong thing. Kagome had always known how to put up a good fight, regardless of how trivial or important the thing she was fighting about was, and she would fight until there was nothing left to fight about!

Whether that was an admirable trait or not was up for debate.

But if it came to this, she would endure. Kagome was her best friend, after all, and this is what best friends did for one another—they _saved_ each other! Regardless of how much the truth hurt! And Kagome _desperately_ needed some saving, no matter how much she tried to say otherwise, because if she continued down this path, who knew what sort of things she would end up involved in! It was all a downward spiral from here, and she would not let Kagome get caught up in a life full of danger, fighting, loitering, and most importantly—_delinquents_!

Pretty and smart girls like Kagome were not supposed to associate themselves with delinquents.

Resolve strengthened and words found, Eri and Yuka shared a determined glance before the two teenagers looked down at their raven-haired friend, still calmly sitting in her seat and carefully watching them with uneasy gray eyes.

"Kagome," Eri slowly began, "you must break up with Inuyasha."

Said girl looked baffled for a second. Then she frowned.

"What?"


	2. if you won't listen

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.**

* * *

"You heard me," Eri claimed.

Kagome resisted the urge to sigh. "Look, I think you guys have misunderstood the situation: Inuyasha and I are just friends."

Yuka shook her head. "No, Kagome. In your eyes, you're just friends, but in his, you're definitely together."

"There's no way that's true," Kagome argued. She jumped back in her seat when Eri suddenly felt the need to invade her personal space. "It is true! This is exactly why pretty girls like you are supposed to stay away from no good delinquents like him—you're too easily manipulated!"

Kagome's eyes narrowed down in a sharp glare. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

Eri faltered. Kagome's legendary temper was already showing itself! This was proof that the conversation was already starting to go downhill! However, she knew she had to remain calm, and not let Kagome's terrifying glower frighten her. "You must listen to us, Kagome: we know what he's up to! He's just using you! He just wants his yankee pals to see that he is capable of corrupting an innocent girl!"

"What?"

"Break up with him, Kagome! Break up with him and free yourself from his grasp!"

"We'd have to be dating in order for us to break up!" The gray-eyed girl snapped. "And he is **not** using me!"

"Kagome, lower your voice!" Yuka shushed, glancing around at the fellow students who had decided to eat their lunch in the classroom. The few who had remained were staring at them, obviously curious.

Exasperation broke onto Kagome's face. "How can I lower my voice when you guys are saying such weird things?"

"The truth hurts!" Yuka asserted at the same time the door to the classroom slid open.

"I have brought reinforcements!" the missing person to their quartet, Ayumi, declared with a wide grin as she stepped into the classroom.

Eri, Yuka, and Kagome watched as another brunette walked into the room, face set in that typical no-nonsense look she was well known for.

"Sango-senpai!" Eri and Yuka cheered.


	3. then we shall use force!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha!**

a/n: I'm sure a lot of people know this by now, but just in case! In Japan, there's only three years of high school. Unless mentioned otherwise (like Sango), everyone is a first year student. Hence the –senpai. :)

* * *

It was a universal fact that second year students were much more knowledgeable in all matters that concerned boys than a trio of first years combined. It was also a universal fact that if there was one person who'd be able to talk sense into Kagome, it was Suzuki Sango, who just so happened to be a second year. After all, Kagome typically listened to her more than she listened to Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi, regardless of how valuable their guidance was. Friends could be so heartless sometimes.

_Especially_ friends influenced by Yankees!

The five teenage girls stared at one another in an awkward silence, lost in their own thoughts. Sango realized no one was going to say anything so she asked, "What's going on?"

"Kagome's being difficult!" Yuka and Eri declared in unison.

Sango raised an eyebrow at their tenacity before glancing down at a flushed Kagome.

"Care to explain?" She probed.

Kagome looked away. "They think I'm dating Inuyasha—which isn't true! You know that! He and I are just friends."

Yuka crossed her arms across her chest and huffed. "And we're telling her that they're definitely dating! Inuyasha's a yankee, after all, and things work differently for guys like him."

"I don't think so," Sango countered without a second thought, "Inuyasha's pretty simple minded, and he seems to genuinely care about Kagome-chan—more so than people realize. I don't think he would take advantage of her trust like that," she finished. She did not notice how flabbergasted Yuka and Eri's expressions became at her casual observation.

Kagome merely smiled in a mix relief and triumph, glad that at least one of her best friends had sense.

"Why'd you bring her?" Yuka angrily questioned Ayumi while pointing at Sango. "She is on the wrong side of this battle!"

"I-I thought you told me to—" Ayumi began only to be cut off by Eri. "But Sango-senpai! Inuyasha is a bad influence on Kagome! We must protect her!" she cried.

"I can take care of myself," Kagome mumbled, though no one heard. Sango went on to say, "I think you guys are looking at this the wrong way. You say that Inuyasha is a bad influence on Kagome-chan, but couldn't you also say that Kagome-chan is a good influence on Inuyasha?"

"But—!"

"Inuyasha and Kagome's friendship is definitely a good thing, in my opinion. Haven't you guys noticed that he comes to school more often? And that he hasn't been in as much trouble lately?"

"But—!"

"I think you're worrying too much."

"But—!"

"And anyways, if that guy tried to do anything to hurt Kagome, I would definitely step in," Sango interrupted, leaving no room for any other comments. "Come with me, Kagome-chan," she said while moving to leave the classroom.

Kagome didn't need to be told twice. She stood and gave her friends one last severe glance before leaving with an amused Sango.


	4. on the side of justice

a/n: I am having too much fun with this story. :D thank you all for the reviews and favorites!

* * *

Sango was laughing. And this wasn't 'oh, that was funny so I am going to giggle' laughter. This was the laughter of a crazed maniac.

At least, that's what it sounded like to an embarrassed Kagome. Then again, she supposed anyone who wasn't directly involved in the situation would find it funny. But to say her senpai had found it _funny_ was an understatement. Thankfully, there weren't that many people in the hallway, so her frustrating tale and the usually composed Sango's snickers were heard by only a couple of nosy eavesdroppers.

"I-I'm sorry," the brunette apologized in between laughs, "I shouldn't be laughing but it's just…so…"

She broke out into hysterical laughter once again. It lasted for a couple more seconds, and once she had calmed down, she said, "those three are crazy."

"More like annoying. I know they mean well, but still…" Kagome sighed as she stared out at all the people eating lunch outside. A soft breeze that came through the open window lifted her bangs in a gentle tease. "Thank you for not saying how much you didn't trust Inuyasha when you first met him."

Sango smiled at her. "Those girls would have gone ballistic if I had, huh?" Her head turned so that she too could stare out the window. "But, all joking pushed aside, if Inuyasha ever does try to do something to you, please do not hesitate to tell me. Not only as your friend, but as the student council president, I need to know what's going on."

"I doubt he ever will," Kagome absently remarked.

"Inuyasha is not a nice person, Kagome-chan."

"He's nice in his own way."

Sango frowned. So this was more serious than she had first thought. "That might be so, but he _is_ a delinquent, so one can never know what his true motives are. I'll defend him for you if I need to, but ultimately, your safety comes first."

Kagome remained silent. Sango was probably right. No, not probably—she _was_ right. However… while they did tend to get into quite a few arguments, Inuyasha had yet to threaten her, or make her feel unsafe. In fact, it was when she was with him that she felt safest.

She told Sango this.

The brunette watched her with careful eyes before voicing her opinion.

"As long as he doesn't hurt you…"

'Why can't Yuka and Eri be as calm and sensible as Sango-senpai?' Kagome sobbed in her mind. She'd be more willing to listen to them if they didn't freak out over every single little thing and treated her like she was incapable of making her own decisions. They were the complete opposite of Sango, who was cool, and levelheaded. She actually _thought_ before she acted.

"Well," Sango suddenly said, breaking Kagome's thoughts, "now that that's out of the way, I have a question to ask you."

The younger girl's expression turned curious. "Yeah?"

"Are you—"

"Ah, so this is where you've been hiding, Sango!" A new, cheery sounding voice said.

Kagome blinked when Sango let out a groan.

"Oh, great…"


	5. you can't fool me

a/n: multiple updates today! :)

* * *

Hoshino Miroku. Tall. Handsome. Smart. Charming.

Flirt.

"Ah! If it isn't the lovely first year, Higurashi-chan!" the boy said when he noticed his fellow classmate's companion. He strode over to where the two girls were standing. Kagome smiled in greeting, while Sango crossed her arms across her chest and frowned, carefully watching his every move.

Miroku noticed and wisely kept his hands to himself. "I assume the reason Sango was taken from homeroom by your friend had something to do with you?" He asked Kagome.

Kagome realized he was talking about Ayumi. "Err…yeah. Sorry about that, Hoshino-senpai."

"There is no need to apologize," was his response. "I'm sure that if she felt that Sango had to get involved, then it had to be something serious, yes?"

"Not really," Kagome sighed while Sango asked, "what are you doing here, Miroku?"

"I was worried about you, Sango! You've been gone for—"

"No more than five minutes," Sango deadpanned.

Miroku grinned. "Well I was worried."

Kagome watched the interaction with pondering orbs.

She wasn't exactly sure if Miroku and Sango were dating as their relationship was, to be blunt, complicated. She knew that the two had been friends since childhood. He flirted with her, she acted like she didn't like it when she secretly did. He acted like an idiot, she hit him in response. He was relaxed, she was firm. He liked her, she liked him. They didn't get into many fights, but when they did, they were _bad_.

One of the problems was that Miroku's ideals of love were more modern, while Sango's views were more traditional.

For all it was worth though, they looked good together.

"—You agree with me, don't you, Higurashi-chan?" Miroku suddenly inquired, wrapping his arms around Kagome's shoulders and bringing her close.

Kagome had no idea what he was even talking about.

"Get your hands off of her, Miroku!" Sango growled as she pinched Miroku's cheeks and attempted to drag Kagome away from him. "She doesn't want that sort of attention from you!"

An attractive smile lifted Miroku's lips as he shot Kagome a smirk. "But she's so cute! We should take her back to our homeroom so everyone can see how cute she is!"

"Don't be stupid!" Sango snapped.

Miroku's expression turned serious. "It is not stupid to appreciate one's beauty."

"Why do you only say things like this when it involves a girl?"

"I don't!"

"You do!"

Kagome decided it was time for her to interrupt. She clapped her hands together to get Sango's attention. "Um, Sango-senpai? Weren't you gonna ask me something before Hoshino-senpai interrupted?"

Sango stared blankly at her as she tried to recall what she had been going to ask. "Oh, that's right! I wanted to know if you were planning on staying after school today?"

"Yeah," Kagome nodded with a soft smile. "You asked me to, remember?"

"I just wanted to make sure that you hadn't forgotten…"

While Miroku was waiting for the two to finish their conversation, he noticed a cell phone charm—a cute little pink cloud with a smiling face—hanging out of Kagome's skirt pocket. He reached for it.

Kagome squeaked at the feel of a hand digging into her pocket and she whipped around so fact, she nearly gave herself whiplash.

Her eyes widened when she realized that her cellphone was in Miroku's hands.

"Ah! Give it back!" Kagome protested as she attempted to reach for her phone.

Considering that he was quite a bit taller than her, it was not hard to keep it out of her reach. "This will only take a second," the older student promised as he resumed punching in a few numbers.

A whack on the back of the head from Sango did the trick, and Kagome's cell phone fell from his hands.

She managed to catch it and stuffed it in her pocket once again.

With a firm grip on the back of Miroku's blazer, Sango began dragging him towards the stairs. "Lunch is almost over, Kagome-chan. You should go to class now. Since you're staying, I'll see you later, alright?"

"Yeah," Kagome smiled. "Thanks for everything. And sorry for all the trouble my friends have caused you."

Sango smiled in return. "Just remember what I told you."

"Bye, Higurashi-chan!" Miroku waved. "Text me!"

Sango slapped his hand down. "Why would she want to text a pervert like you?"

Miroku's response echoed down the hall as the two second years disappeared from the first year floor. "Sango, your words wound me!"

Once they were out of sight, Kagome burst out laughing.

Yeah, they were _definitely_ dating.


	6. and so he arrives

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.**

* * *

In all truth, Kagome wasn't that great at sneaking into places. So she settled for calmly walking back into the classroom while deliberately ignoring the suspicious glares she got from Eri and Yuka. Ayumi merely watched her with curious eyes, as did the rest of the students who were used to these episodes with this particular quartet of girls.

The gray eyed girl sauntered over to her seat, and sat down.

She then withdrew her math book and notebook from her bag.

Eri and Yuka continued to glare at her.

She took out her pencil bag.

Eri and Yuka continued to glare at her.

She plucked out a green mechanical pencil and an eraser from the bag.

Eri and Yuka continued to glare at her.

She opened her notebook, flipped to the next clean page, wrote the date, then began doodling just to waste time.

Eri and Yuka continued to glare at her.

She settled back into her seat once she became bored, and glanced up at the chalkboard.

Just as Eri and Yuka opened their mouths to accuse her and Sango of being traitors or something to that effect, the bell signifying lunch was over rang. A horde of chatty students began to trudge on into the room, robbing the two girls of the opportunity to say anything.

Eri mouthed the words, 'this isn't over yet, Higurashi,' but Kagome ignored that too.

Things settled down, and before long, Nakamura-sensei, a kind, but short-tempered and kinda boring middle-aged man, entered the classroom and like usual, got straight to the point.

"Good afternoon, class," he said once he was standing behind the podium.

"Good afternoon, sensei," the class greeted in unison.

"I hope you are all ready to continue learning more about slopes today."

The entire class barely managed to suppress an exasperated groan.

"Open your books to page—"

"GODAMMIT—WHY WON'T THIS FUCKING DOOR OPEN?"

Everyone's heads snapped up at the angry voice, and they all turned to look at the rattling door closest to the back. It was a voice they didn't hear very often, but had been hearing more often than not lately.

Rumor had it that Higurashi Kagome had something to do with that.

The door jiggled and creaked for a couple more seconds before it violently slid open, revealing a tall boy with silver hair, golden eyes, and a lazy scowl on his face.

"Yo," he said.

* * *

a/n: :D


	7. keep your eyes on me

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

a/n: Mookie's creep moment: readers/reviewers, I love you. That is all. :D

* * *

"Taisho!" Nakamaru-sensei exclaimed, his kind demeanor rapidly dissipating, "you need to watch your mouth! And fix your uniform!" He demanded, referring to the white button up shirt that was _not_ properly tucked in, and the loose tie that was merely slung across the boy's shoulders.

"Yeah, yeah," Inuyasha grumbled before his gaze focused solely on the girl who had been occupying his thoughts as of late. She was staring directly at him and—not to brag about it or anything—it looked like she was incredibly happy to see him.

Unknowingly, the stiff lock of his shoulders loosened. He felt a lot better, too.

Without another word, he casually moved towards Kagome while ignoring the 20 something pairs of eyes watching his every move. Everyone stared expectantly as he arrived at the desk next to Kagome's.

"Get the fuck out of my seat," he told the poor boy sitting next to her.

"You could ask him nicely," Kagome interjected.

Inuyasha scowled. "_Please_ get the fuck out of my seat."

"You could also leave out the unnecessary language," Kagome remarked to no avail, as the terrified boy scrambled out of the chair and towards the empty seat near the front.

"Maybe next time," Inuyasha murmured as he ungracefully plopped down onto his seat, and slouched. He turned towards her. "How's it going?" He asked, but Nakamura spoke before she could. "Now that you've settled yourself into your seat, Taisho, may we continue with class?" He inquired.

Put off, Inuyasha replied, "Keh, go ahead! I ain't stopping ya!"

"Inuyasha," Kagome warned, and to everyone's surprise, the yankee quieted down.

Nakamura nodded and turned back to the blackboard. "Alright then. Let's start with a basic equation and work from there."

Kagome tried to listen to what he was saying, she really did, but now that Inuyasha was in the room, she found that it was incredibly difficult to focus on notes. After all, it wasn't very often that Inuyasha showed up and when he did, it was during lunch. Not after. So she had to wonder why he had decided to show up.

She snuck a quick peek at him.

He wasn't even paying attention to Nakamaru-sensei, but then again, he never did. Rather than facing the board, he chose to sit sideways in his seat—facing _her_. She'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy the attention, but…to be so obvious about it…

"And with those numbers, we can determine the…" she vaguely heard Nakamura-sensei say. She started and tried to catch a quick glimpse the numbers that he was now erasing, but no luck.

This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. She had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she hadn't paid any attention to what he had been saying! Math was already her weakest subject, and now she was going fall even further behind…

While she mentally panicked and tried to catch up, Inuyasha continued to silently watch her.

In all truth, Nakamura sounded like nothing but a distant drone: an undoubtedly boring one. He couldn't care less about what the teacher had to say—Higurashi was much more interesting. Especially since her eyes kept darting all over the place, as if she was trying to watch him without getting caught.

It was cute.

But when a surprised look overcame her features, he frowned.

If there was one thing he knew about her, it was that she was completely incapable of hiding her emotions.

He noticed how the tip of her pencil lingered over the paper, like she was trying to figure out something to write down, and how she bit her lip as she tried to follow Nakamura's example without knowing where he was getting his numbers from. And he certainly didn't miss how she began to squirm as she got more and more confused.

Inuyasha scowled. "Oi, speak slower!" He told the teacher. "Can't you see that you're going too fast for anyone to understand what you're talking about? Useless teacher…"

"You are not even taking notes!" Nakamura countered.

Inuyasha pointed a thumb at Kagome. "But Higurashi is."

Kagome flushed as everyone directed their attention onto both her and Inuyasha. _Again_.

"Rather than concern yourself about the affairs of your fellow classmates, you should worry about taking your own notes!"

"I could care less about notes," Inuyasha stated.

Nakamura flushed and frowned. "Did you come here to learn or to stare at Higurashi?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Good students come to school to _learn_, not flirt!"

"Then I guess this just confirms what you've been suspecting all along, huh?"

"Don't make me have to—"

"I'll take care of this, Nakamaru-sensei," Kagome interrupted as she stood from her seat and grabbed Inuyasha's hand.

"Come with me," she told him.


	8. my only reason for being here

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha!**

* * *

"Are you _trying_ to get yourself in trouble?"

Inuyasha scoffed and leaned against the window—the same window Kagome and Sango had been at not too long ago. "No. But I sure as hell didn't come all the way here to listen to that idiot yap on and on about nothing."

"It's not nothing!" Kagome defended. "It's math! It's school! We come here to learn!"

"I don't get what you're gettin' all upset about," retorted a surprised Inuyasha. "You don't like math either!"

Kagome's annoyed gaze slightly softened. "That's true, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try my best. If we have to be here, then we might as well make the best of it, right?"

"Don't think you can spread that optimism of yours—it won't work on me."

His snippy attitude did little to damper her cheer. "You could try being a little bit more positive, you know. There's no need to always look and be so mad."

"I always look like this you fool."

"That's exactly why you need to smile more! You also need to stop trying to pick fights with everyone—this isn't the place for brawls. Everyone here is your friend, and we're all here to support you if you just _give us the chance_."

Inuyasha pondered over her words and remained silent for a couple seconds. And then:

"You done with your little pep talk?"

A bright smile lifted Kagome's lips. "Yep," she confirmed, and just as she was about to head back into the classroom, she noticed—_really_ noticed—Inuyasha's ruffled appearance.

If he went back into the classroom without fixing himself, Nakamura-sensei would undoubtedly throw a fit. And if there was one thing she knew about Inuyasha, it was that he didn't respond very well to fits.

"You should probably tuck in your shirt," she said.

"What?"

"Your shirt," Kagome gestured towards the wrinkled fabric, "needs to be tucked inside your pants. And you need to fix your tie."

Inuyasha dismissed her comments. "Bah. What's the point?"

Kagome's cheeks puffed up in irritation and she stomped over to where he was standing. Inuyasha watched with held breath as her small hands gripped the offending tie and she began tying it for him.

Had anyone else attempted to do what she was doing, he probably would have punched them in the face.

"It isn't that hard once you get the hang of it," she informed him, completely unaware of his racing thoughts as her hands folded his tie into the four in hand knot. "In fact, it'll become so easy, you'll be able to do it in your sleep."

"Yeah, that's hilarious," the yankee muttered, more intrigued with how close their bodies were and the warmth that radiated off of Higurashi's smaller frame. Was it normal for a person to be so warm? He didn't think so, but then again, what did he know?

A few seconds later, Kagome finished and took a step back to appreciate her handiwork. "There," she said.

But, there was still one thing missing…

Inuyasha noticed it too.

Grudgingly, he tucked in his shirt.

Kagome nodded her approval. "Now that that's done with, we should go back inside…but, can you please not try not to anger Nakamura-sensei?"

"He started it."

Kagome deadpanned. "How old are you?"

"How old are _you_?"

"Inuyasha."

"Ka—_Higurashi_."

His little mess up did not go unnoticed. Just as Kagome was about to comment on it, Inuyasha glared at nothing and his cheeks turned a dark red. "What I meant was… I don't… ah, forget it_, _I'll just go," he mumbled in one quick breath while shoving his hands in his pockets. Right as he turned to leave, Kagome grabbed onto his arm.

"No, stay," she pleaded, looking into his eyes. "You just got here."

Inuyasha blushed. "I-I've got things to do!"

Kagome stared at him accusingly. "Then why'd you come in the first place?"

Inuyasha returned the stare. "To learn?"

The pretty first year did not appear to be convinced. "But that's not really the reason, right?"

"Look, I just," Inuyasha's words stayed stuck in his throat.

'_I wanted to see you,_' was what he wished to say, but couldn't. Not only was it embarrassing, but there was also the possibility that Higurashi wouldn't respond well to him saying that. Sure, she was a nice girl and she was proving to be different than he had first expected, but, no matter what she was like, nothing changed the fact that _he_ was a delinquent.

And girls like her typically didn't like delinquents like him.

"Gah, I'm leaving!" He yapped. "I don't know why I bothered coming here in the first place!" He lied.

"Inuyasha, wait!" Kagome cried.

It proved to be pointless though, as he had already left.

* * *

a/n: don't worry, Inuyasha will be back _very_ soon. :D


	9. nothing stays unchanged

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha!**

a/n: so, we finally get to see how Inuyasha and Kagome met! Yaaaay! And yay for this being the longest chapter!

Everything in italics is the flashback. :) enjoy~

* * *

_The weather was perfect._

_He typically didn't care much for climate, but he enjoyed it when days were like this: calm winds, distant clouds in the otherwise blue sky while the sun offered nothing but warmth… it was nice. And it relaxed him. That was something he didn't feel very often—not since he had joined Naraku's gang. _

_Admittedly, Naraku was one of the few people he had respect for. Six years his senior, the guy had found him wandering the streets like a complete loser and had changed him into the tough talking yankee that he was today. Before, he had feared everyone, but now everyone feared him. It was empowering. And he never wanted to go back to being the person that he once was._

_Never. _

_The one downside to it though was that everything he had now had come with a price. _

_He would always be grateful to Naraku, but…_

_The silence was disturbed by the sound of thudding feet. Someone was running nearby._

_Not really caring but having nothing else to do otherwise, Inuyasha opened his eyes._

_Straight ahead, heading in his direction, was a girl in a navy blue school uniform. She looked like she was in a hurry. _

"_I'm late I'm late I'm late I'm late," he heard her repeat over and over again as she came closer and closer. _

_For some reason, he continued to stare even as she passed by in a stereotypical fashion: flushed cheeks, worried eyes, long, wavy hair swishing in the wind… He recognized the school uniform, too. It was the same as his. He vaguely recalled that today was first year orientation, and that's probably where this girl was headed. Technically, that was where he was supposed to be too, but he didn't care much for school. _

_Ah, well._

_Having satisfied his curiosity, he closed his eyes again. He had no intention of speaking to her—she was of no interest to him. So he resumed forward. _

_The girl, however, thought otherwise._

_She stopped running, then rotated to face him. _

"_You're going the wrong way," she told him. _

"_Yeah?" He said without stopping or turning around. "How do you know?"_

"_We're wearing the same uniform," the girl said. "You're late too!" _

"_Keh! Well, since you can't tell, I ain't goin' to school." _

_Kagome blinked. "Why not?"_

"_School is for idiots." _

_Kagome stared at him. "…are you sure?" _

"_Keh, of course I'm sure! Stupid girl." _

"_Says the guy who thinks school is for idiots." _

"_The guy" finally stopped. He slowly turned towards the chatty female. "What?" _

_Now would be a good time to run, but Kagome tended to do stupid things whenever faced with danger. "I said—"_

"_No, I heard what you said," Inuyasha claimed. Alarms went off in Kagome's head when he started stepping towards her, a dark look in his eyes. _

"_Then why'd you ask?" She questioned, trying her damndest to not let the fear creeping up her body affect her voice. _

_The stranger kept his mouth shut and forced her back until her back was against a nearby metal fence. He placed one hand on the wall, close to her waist, and the other near her head._

"_Listen, I'm the type of guy you don't wanna mess with," he breathed, letting one hand brush against her hip while he leaned on the other. "You _really_ don't wanna piss me off."_

"_Yeah, well, that goes for you too," Kagome bit back when she noticed that he was leaning down. "Don't touch me." _

"_No," Inuyasha murmured, his lips awfully close to her mouth._

_Irate gray met cocky amber in a steady glower. _

_Neither said anything. The quiet was unbearable, and the tension was high. Nothing moved. _

_Then, Kagome promptly screeched the words, "Get away from me!" as loud as she could while shoving him back. _

_Inuyasha grit his teeth while he covered his ears with his hands._

"_What the fuck is wrong with you?" He yelled._

"_I should be the one asking you that! You don't sexually harass a girl that you've just met like that, you creep!" _

"_I'm not a—!"_

"_Save it!" Kagome disrupted, unaware that she was ordering a yankee with a terrible reputation to shut his mouth._

_Inuyasha took it upon himself to inform this girl of a thing or two. "Do you know who I am?" _

"_No," Kagome automatically responded, noticeably calmer than before. She raised a thin eyebrow. "Who are you?" _

"_I'm Taisho Inuyasha, and I don't take shit from—"_

"_Oh, I remember seeing your name on the class roster. You're in my class," Kagome mentioned, completely cutting him off. "But you never show up so-" She suddenly shut her mouth. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out her cellphone._

_Inuyasha deadpanned. "You fucking teenager." _

"_I'm late!" Kagome hysterically exclaimed. "I'm so late! I gotta go!" _

_Just as Inuyasha opened his mouth to comment, the girl zoomed past him at a remarkably fast speed._

"_Fuckin' weird…" the teenage boy mumbled to himself as he watched the gray eyed girl leave. _

_Yes, she was weird, but interesting, he supposed. There weren't many people who had the guts to stand up to him like that. What's more, there weren't many people who he _allowed_ to speak to him like that._

_Next time though, he wouldn't be so nice. Next time, he would definitely teach—_

_Inuyasha frowned, unable to finish his mental threat. _

_He hadn't even gotten her name._

* * *

Inuyasha's eyes slowly opened to a dark ceiling.

Startled, he used his shoulders to sit up—why was he even laying down in the first place?—and tried to figure out where the hell he was.

Once his eyes noticed the dark green grass he was sitting upon, he calmed down.

He remembered now. He remembered going to school—to math, specifically—and seeing Higurashi, and…

He fell back onto the grass. He remembered her fixing his tie, and telling him that he should stay. He hadn't listened, and instead, he had ventured off to his thinking spot. Which was just under a shady bridge in a busy part of town.

He wondered what Higurashi had told Nakamura after he had left. Actually, no he didn't. He wondered what Higurashi was doing _now_.

If he remembered correctly, there were three periods after lunch, and he had stayed for _at least_ five minutes of math, so with that, and his departure and nap, chances were that Higurashi was just about done with school for the day.

He stilled.

He certainly hadn't cared for the school schedule before. Now he could recall it without even looking at a watch?

"Higurashi Kagome," the yankee sighed while lying back down again. "What are you doing to me?"

"You went to go see her?"

Inuyasha scrambled to sit up at the sound of the inquiring voice. He struggled for a moment before he settled and his furious golden eyes met smirking sapphire orbs.

"Bankotsu," he growled.

"No need to say my name with such anger," the tanned male, who appeared to be the same age as him, remarked with raised arms. "I just asked a question."

Inuyasha turned away from him. "Mind your own business!"

"So in other words, you did. I'm guessing that since you're here already, things didn't go too well?" Bankotsu probed.

"Keh! I don't have to answer to you!"

"Meaning, yes, things went badly," said another voice, this one a fair masculine and feminine mix that belonged to a man who looked more female than male. "Poor Inu-chan!"

"Damn it, Jakotsu! How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

"But you're so cute~"

"I am not _cute_ you fucking—!"

"Ahh, Bankotsu-chan, Inu-chan is screaming some dirty, mean words at me!"

"Shout them right back."

"Don't get involved in this, you jackass!"

"Inu-chan is too vulgar!"

Inuyasha resisted the urge to stand and beat the two up to a bloody pulp. The two were good guys in their own way, and very trustworthy, but they were _annoying as hell_.

"What are you two doing here, anyway?" He asked, even though he didn't really care.

"We were just wandering around," Bankotsu answered. "Jakotsu was the one who saw you, hiding under this bridge like a total bum."

"This is where I come to think!" Inuyasha defended.

Jakotsu decided to add his two cents. "Oh, but you're much cuter when you don't think, Inuyasha-chan."

Bankotsu shook his head. "Nah, he's not even cute then."

"Oh, I have to disagree!"

"Your taste in men is terrible."

"It's not!"

"It is."

"You two gossip like little old hags," Inuyasha mumbled while turning onto his side.

"Don't be so cruel, Inuyasha-chan!" Jakotsu cried dramatically, smoothly redirecting his attention.

"I keep telling you not to call me that!"

Jakotsu gave him a cheeky smile. "How about Inuyasha-_chin_, then?"

"Shut up, Jakotsu, just shut up!"

Bankotsu rolled his eyes as the two continued to bicker over nothing. Eventually, they ran out of steam and settled for glaring at one another.

Well, Inuyasha settled for glaring. What Jakotsu was doing was better described as ogling.

Bankotsu sighed. "Look, Inuyasha, I can tell that you're gonna be distracted later tonight when Naraku needs us to carry out his job, so why don't you just get your fill and go see Higurashi?"

"My fill?" Inuyasha repeated.

All he got was a shrug. "Obsession, fascination, greatest love, whatever you wanna call her."

"Greatest love?" Jakotsu echoed, scandalized.

Inuyasha turned a bright red. "She's not—!"

"Ah, who cares what she is? Just go see her again. It's not like you've got anything to lose," Bankotsu encouraged.

Inuyasha grimaced and kept quiet, even as his fellow gang members left him with his thoughts.

"I've got a shit ton to lose, actually," he corrected, though no one was there to hear them. Like his pride, and reputation, and…

He stood up anyway.

Then, because he could (and not because he had to!), he headed back in the direction of the school.


	10. tell me about it

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. **

* * *

"You're distracted."

Kagome flinched and looked at Sango, who was watching her with a raised eyebrow. "I-I am?"

"You can't fool me. It's obvious that you're not paying attention to what I'm telling you."

"I am _too_ paying attention," Kagome weakly countered, fiddling with the posters advertising the cultural festival in her hands.

"Then what did I say?"

The younger of the two floundered, but saw her way out when she noticed the flashy sign Sango was holding. "Um…that that sign will look _terrible_ on this wall." She patted said wall for good measure. "And I agree."

Sango sighed. "Oh, Kagome-chan. I was telling you that not enough people signed up for the play."

"Oh! Right…" The words settled in and the first year frowned. "But then..."

"That's what I was telling you. We have most of the people figured out, fortunately, but we're still missing the two leads."

Kagome blinked as Sango suddenly went quiet and began fidgeting. It was an odd sight, considering that the older girl was always so composed. Finally, after a couple of seconds of pondering, her senpai stilled and met her gaze with firm brown orbs.

"I suppose that I should now tell you that this is the main reason I asked you to stay after school with me, Kagome-chan; to ask you if you'd be willing to play the part of Kotoko-hime."

Kagome's eyes widened. "Me? As Kotoko-hime?"

"Sure!" Sango smiled. "After all, if there's anyone fit to play the princess, it's you. How are good are you at acting?"

"I'm—"

"Great! You have the part."

'You didn't even let me answer,' Kagome mused, but dropped it since she probably would have accepted it anyway. She glanced down at the many posters she still held. "Are you sure that's okay? I mean, everyone else had to audition and I—"

Sango completely ignored her worries and went on to say, "Now that we have our Kotoko-hime, all we need is a prince."

Kagome quieted and pondered over that. "Do you have any potential candidates for the prince?"

"We don't, unfortunately."

"What about Hoshino-senpai?"

"He can't play the prince because he'll be playing someone else," Sango dismissed. "Plus, that pervert would only warp the image of the pure-hearted prince."

A sweat drop appeared on the back of Kagome's head. "Yeah, you're probably right…"

The brunette sighed. "It's very frustrating. It'll be a ten minute play at the most, and yet, no one wants to play the part. In fact, with the way things are going, _I'll_ probably have to be the prince."

"Sango-senpai as the prince?" Kagome exclaimed before bursting out laughing.

Sango couldn't help but laugh too. The two girls shared their merriment for a couple seconds more before resuming the tedious task of putting up posters, and the subject of the prince was dropped.

* * *

They were on their way out of the school when Sango informed her of the details involving the play. "Since the cultural festival is just a few weeks away, rehearsals for the play start next week," she said. "It's a short play, so we don't need as much time to rehearse as we would if it were a normal play."

"What will we do if the prince hasn't been chosen by then?" Kagome asked.

"If it comes to that, then I'll just be the prince. So don't be too worried about it."

"Okay…"

"Sango!" A familiar voice called. "Let me walk you home!"

The brunette stopped walking and glared at the approaching Miroku. "You're not gonna offer to walk Kagome-chan home too?"

Miroku brushed off her anger as he came to a stop in front of the two girls. "Oh, I would, but there's no need. You see, there's a certain someone waiting for her at the front gate. "

Kagome's eyes widened in interest. "Really?"

The violet eyed male smirked all knowingly, and he winked. "Yep. He's been here for a while, so you should go meet him now."

Kagome heeded his advice and nodded. "Yes! Thank you! I'll see you two tomorrow!" She said before departing.

The two upperclassmen watched her leave.

Once she was completely out of sight, Sango turned towards Miroku. "Inuyasha?"

"Inuyasha," he confirmed.


	11. extend your hand out to me

**disclaimer for every single chapter from here on out: I do not own Inuyasha.  
**

a/n: I'm happy with this chapter and at the same time, I'm not. I might fix it later...**  
**

* * *

She shouldn't be this happy.

No, happy wasn't the right word—_expectant_. Expectant. She shouldn't be this expectant. After all, one never knew what to expect with Inuyasha and if his earlier fit was anything to go by, then she certainly shouldn't be too hopeful.

Kagome's run to the front entrance slowly settled into a shaky walk as she began to think things over.

'If he was so willing to leave the first time, then who's to say he won't willingly leave so fast again?' She pondered, finally just a few steps away from the gate. She nearly came to a complete stop as her thoughts continued to spiral out of control.

Now that she thought about it, maybe expectant wasn't the right word after all.

During her falter, Inuyasha stepped out into plain sight in all his rugged glory, and any doubts she had vanished.

Because, no matter how he viewed their bizarre relationship, or what he did, or what she thought, or what either of them said, the fact remained that he was still there…

"You're slow," he grunted.

…to see _her_.

"Sorry," she breathed, "I had to help Sango-senpai, and…" the first year flushed. "How long have you been waiting?"

"Long enough!" Inuyasha commented. "I've been here since school got out."

"Erm…thank you for waiting for me?"

It was the yankee's turn to blush. "D-don't think too much of it."

"But you don't come to school very often. And when you do, you don't stay very long. And even though school hours are over, it's still a surprise to see you—"

"Okay, okay!" Inuyasha interrupted. "Enough! I didn't come here to hear you make fun of me."

"That's not what I'm doing." Kagome assured before her expression became curious. "So why _are_ you here?"

The flush became darker. "To walk you home," he said quietly.

Kagome's cheeks matched his. "Oh."

"Y-yeah." Inuyasha cursed his stuttering, and began walking. "So let's go."

Kagome nodded and quickly followed after him—_in the right direction_.

She wondered about that as she realized he knew where he was going. "How do you know where I live?" she questioned.

She heard him scoff. "Like it would take a genius to figure out that _Higurashi_ Kagome lives at _Higurashi_ shrine."

Kagome kept her eyes focused on the back of his head. "Right."

"_Right_," he softly mocked as they crossed a street. "Anyway, what'd you tell Nakamura after I left?"

"Oh, I just told him that you left without giving me a reason, but that you told me to tell him that you were very sorry for skipping class."

Inuyasha stopped in the middle of the empty road. "You what?"

"He would have gotten very angry otherwise," Kagome explained, not noticing his pause in movement as she passed by him. "He's a nice guy, but _only_ if you're a good student."

"I'm _not_ a good student, Higurashi! Everyone knows that!" Inuyasha yelled as he slightly jogged to catch up to her.

"Well, Nakamura-sensei didn't ask any questions after that, so it's okay."

"It's _not_ okay!"

Kagome looked genuinely surprised. "Why?"

"Because I hate school! And everyone knows that I hate it! That includes you!"

"I just didn't want you to get in trouble!"

Inuyasha blinked at her revelation, and looked away. He sniffed. "I don't need you to look after me." His eyes darted back in Higurashi's direction so that he could watch her shrug. "Well, you're welcome," she said.

"I didn't say thanks," she heard the grumpy yankee mumble, and she smiled, because he could be _such_ a child when he wanted to be.

The Goshinboku was already in sight, meaning they were close to her home, as she lived fairly close to the school. She pointed at it, because this was the one thing she was always happy to share. "Hey Inuyasha. You see that?"

Inuyasha lazily regarded the giant tree. "Yeah?"

"Do you know that that tree has been on my family's property for ages?"

He snorted. "Good for you?"

She ignored his nag. "It's always been there for us for as long as I can remember. During sad times, and happy times..."

Inuyasha watched with pensive orbs as Kagome's eyes gained a sympathetic sheen. "It's a very comforting place," she murmured. "And the one place you can always go to when you need to think."

He didn't know what to say to that, so he settled with a sincere, "good for you."

Realizing she was letting her thoughts wander into places she didn't want them to wander to, Kagome attempted to focus once more. It wouldn't do any good to bother Inuyasha with things that he didn't care about. Although, speaking of which...

She regarded her taller companion. "Inuyasha," she started, "how good are you at acting?"

The male frowned. "What?"

"Can you act? You know, like in plays?"

"What are you getting at, Higurashi?"

Kagome fiddled with the hem of her skirt. "Well, it's just…not enough people signed up for the play for the school festival this year, and while the princess has been chosen, they still need a prince."

Inuyasha understood. "_Fuck no_."

Kagome pouted. "There's no way I can convince you otherwise?"

"Higurashi, the chances of me participating in that play are so low, they're negative," the male claimed with a scowl. However, the sight of her quivering puppy eyes and pout slightly deterred his conviction. He looked away. "I said no! Who the hell would want to see a yankee act in a play?"

"I would! I _do_!" Kagome argued. "What you are doesn't matter! All you need to do is act like a good prince and you'll have everyone hooked!"

"I can't even act like a good student! What makes you think I'll be able to be a prince?"

"It's a play! Everything you need to know is in the script."

"Don't say that as if I've already accepted the part!"

"Please Inuyasha?"

"No!"

"But you'd make such a good prince!"

_That_ was something he'd never heard before. "Stop saying such stupid things!"

Kagome reeled back. Then her eyes narrowed down in a fierce glare. "They're not stupid!"

"Yes they are!"

A pair of middle aged lovers who had just left the shrine quietly passed by the steaming teenagers and their terrifying expressions.

"Why are you trying to pick a fight with me?" Kagome asked.

"I could ask you the same thing!" Inuyasha retorted.

"All I'm trying to say is—!"

"And all _I'm_ trying to say is—!"

Both paused and glared at each other.

"Stop it!" they ordered in sync.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome began, her tone a little softer than before.

That was not a good sign. So, to stop whatever it was that she was going to do, he repeated her earlier words. "Why are you tryin' to pick a fight with me?"

Kagome clenched her fists. "Oh, nevermind!"

And because he was notorious for making things worse, and he liked to see her angry, Inuyasha refused to drop the matter. "Don't get all huffy with me!"

Despite her anger, Kagome found that she couldn't find anything else to say. She didn't know why she was being so stubborn. The role wasn't that big a deal, and Sango had already said that she'd be alright with playing the prince. Still…she wanted Inuyasha to be part of it, too. He deserved that at the least, didn't he? But, if he didn't want to, and if they were just going to fight over it…

She walked off without saying another word, leaving Inuyasha behind to scowl and slowly trail after her.

The rest of the walk was spent in an awkward, tense silence, one neither of them were willing to break. Fortunately for them, Higurashi shrine was just a few feet away, and within a minute, they were at the bottom of the stairs that seemed to go on forever.

Kagome looked at him for a brief second before she looked away.

She couldn't even say, 'see you tomorrow,' because she didn't know if she would. So, to make things quick and painless, she mumbled a quick "bye," and began her ascent up the stairs.

As she stepped further and further away from him, a voice in Inuyasha's head began screeching at him.

'What are you doing?' and 'Is this this really okay?' it said. Also, 'why do the two of you have to fight so much?' To make matters worse, he didn't know the answer to any of those questions, and they just confused him so, so much…

The higher up Higurashi got, the more persistent the voice became.

'stop her stop her stop her' it nagged. Then, just as he was ready to squash its annoying squawks, it said something worth listening to.

'Don't end things like this,' it said.

Inuyasha grit his teeth. "Higurashi!"

Kagome stopped and looked back. "What?"

"I…" –why was it always so hard to say what one wanted to say? He never understood that, and he probably never would. "…I'll go to class tomorrow."

He watched as Kagome's eyes widened, and she slowly turned towards him. "Really?"

"Yes really! Why would I lie about that?"

Whatever other insults he had to throw at her were lost the instant her frown became a bright smile. "You mean you'll be there in the morning too?"

He started to mumble the words, 'don't push it,' but it quickly evolved to an "I'll try."

That was enough for Kagome. "Okay! I'll see you tomorrow then!" She waved before practically skipping up the rest of the stairs.

Inuyasha lifted a hand in response, then began his long walk home, contented with the fact that Higurashi couldn't see the pleased smirk on his face.


	12. curious, curious, curious

a/n: more facts: no ji-chan in this story, and Souta is only three years younger than Kagome.

* * *

Higurashi Souta was lost. He was sure of it.

After all, there was just no way the person with the bright smile on her face that had just passed him was his older sister.

There was no way.

"I-I'm in the wrong house!" Souta exclaimed, spinning on his heel and ready to storm on out of the place he thought had been his home. That was the plan anyway, until the Kagome imposter grabbed him by the back of his shirt to keep him from going anywhere.

"What's the matter with you?" Kagome asked with a raised eyebrow and pink brush in hand.

"Who are you?" Souta babbled. "Where is nee-chan?"

Kagome stared at him like he was an idiot. "…Souta, it's me."

"Nuh uh! You're smiling _at 6:30 in the morning_. And nee-chan isn't a morning person. She's usually grumpy and her hair is all over the place and she's usually missing a sock and her—"

"Okay, that's enough," Kagome declared as she let her crazy younger sibling go. "And I'll have you know that I am _too_ a morning person."

"Who are you kidding?" Souta grumbled while rubbing the back of his head. He straightened himself up when Kagome began brushing her long hair, right there in the middle of the hall. He frowned. "Why are you even up so early? You normally wake up a half hour after I do."

Kagome stilled in her movements. "Oh, I just," she blushed, "wanted to try fixing myself up for once."

Souta watched her with a thoughtful gaze. "Why?"

He received one of Kagome's infamous glares for his inquiry. "What do you mean why? This type of thing is normal for girls my age."

"Sure it is," Souta agreed with a nod, "but you normally don't care about stuff like that."

"I do _too_," Kagome argued. Why was she having this discussion with her 12 year old brother again? And why did he have to stick his nose where it didn't belong?

"You do not."

"I do."

"You don't."

"I do!"

"You don't!"

Kagome growled in exasperation, "Leave me alone, Souta! Don't you have to start getting ready for school too?"

"No. It takes me five minutes to get ready, at the most."

"Then why are you up so early?"

"Nice try, nee-chan, but I know you're trying to change the subject."

Despite the fact that what he had said was true, Kagome felt the need to argue her innocence. "I was not…"

"Right. So is there a guy involved?" He asked, his voice taking a more stern tone. It was an odd voice for someone so young, but Kagome had taken their father's death a couple of years ago rather hard, and since then, Souta had taken it upon himself to act like a brother, a father, an uncle and every other familial male role to his sister. After all, it was just him, her, and their mother now, and since he was the only male in the household, he _needed_ to protect his mother and sister. From everything.

"Maybe," Kagome answered.

But that didn't mean that the roles he played didn't overlap every now and then. "A guy is actually interested in you?"

Kagome whirled back in his direction. "Hey!"

"Right! Neutral, neutral," her younger brother stated with his raised arms in a defensive position. "So who is it?"

"That doesn't matter," Kagome responded. "He's just a friend, and I want to see if he'll notice anything different."

Souta scoffed. "Then you should get back in the bathroom—you're gonna need a lot more work if you're trying to pretty yourself up."

He laughed as he dodged the brush Kagome hurled in his direction.

* * *

Souta was happily eating his breakfast when Kagome stepped into the kitchen. With her hair up in a high ponytail. And not a single hair out of place.

Kagome _never_ wore her hair up. And there were usually a couple of strange hairs that stuck out to the side—but suited her, oddly enough—but she never bothered to fix them.

He wisely kept his mouth shut as Kagome strolled past him and grabbed the piece of toast he had left in the toaster for her. She stayed quiet as she calmly ate her breakfast.

It only heightened Souta's suspicions.

Kagome was _not_ a quiet person. And when she was, it meant something was up.

Both siblings finished their breakfast without saying a word, and began gathering their things together since it was almost time for them to depart. Souta finished first, and was already at the door by the time Kagome had only grabbed her shoes.

"I'm leaving now!" Souta yelled, running ahead of Kagome, who had her shoes on, but was now talking to their now awake mother.

His mom responded with a sincere, "have a nice day!" and with that, he was on his way. He ran across the shrine grounds, and was running towards the shrine steps when he came across a startling sight.

There, standing at the bottom of the steps, was a guy with long silver hair, disheveled clothes, and a mean glare on his face.

So he did the only logical thing any 12 year old in his position would do.

He yelled, "robber!"


	13. handle it like a professional

a/n: I am so glad to hear that you guys are enjoying the story. :)

* * *

"…So I wanted to let you know that I'll be home a little later than usual."

"Mama," Kagome started in a concerned voice, "you're still sick. You need to stay home and rest."

"Nonsense! This is the best I've felt in the past couple of days," Mama Higurashi assured with a smile. "And I need to catch up on what I've missed at work."

"I keep telling you that I can get a job at that shop I told you about. You won't have to worry about work ever again."

Her mother's smile only widened and she patted her daughter's cheek. "No dear, the only thing you have to worry about is your studies, and nothing else."

"Mama…"

"Kagome, don't start. You and I both know that—"

"Robber!" they heard Souta abruptly yell. "Breaking and entering! A thief! Burglar! Mama! Nee-chan! _Robber_!"

The two Higurashi women shared a glance. Then, without saying a word, they quickly zipped out of the house and towards the panicking Souta.

Being the younger and faster of the two, Kagome arrived at the scene first: what she saw was completely different from what Souta saw.

Although, the fact that Inuyasha was practically leaping up several sets of steps to shut up her overdramatic brother _would_ indeed look suspicious to anyone.

"Inuyasha!" She called, surprised.

"A yankee!" Mama Higurashi exclaimed in fascination.

"A robber!" Souta recited for the millionth time.

"Calm down," Inuyasha panted as he arrived at the top, only for Souta to whip in his direction and point a finger in his direction.

"We don't have anything for you to steal!" the two year old proclaimed. "This shrine has nothing that would interest you! So you can just le—"

Kagome stopped his rant by placing one hand over his mouth and the other on his shoulder. She smiled at the dumbfounded yankee. "Sorry about that, Inuyasha. This one's a little crazy."

Inuyasha glared at her. "_Obviously_."

"What stunning hair you have," Mama Higurashi cut in, staring at the dashing young man standing before her. He seemed to be Kagome's age as well! In fact, they had the same uniform, so there was a good chance they were classmates…

Her dark eyes drifted over to her daughter.

'Well, that explains her hair…'

"Mama, Souta, this is Taisho Inuyasha, and he's a friend," Kagome exclaimed once she had let go of Souta. He didn't appear to believe her while her mom's eyes drifted from her to Inuyasha.

Noticing her daughter's conflicted expression, Mama Higurashi decided to intervene. "My, look at the condition of your uniform." She poked and probed at Inuyasha's dirty blazer and jacket. "It's worn."

Inuyasha scowled the way a five year old would. "It's all I have."

His response was a sympathetic gaze. "You poor boy. Souta, don't you have a jacket you could lend Inuyasha-kun? One that doesn't have holes, preferably."

"Mama!" Souta complained while Kagome tried not to sigh.

"We really have to get going," the teenager stated, hoping Inuyasha would catch on and make their parting a lot less painful. The last thing she needed was for Souta to go into full interrogation mode while their mother began ransacking through their closets looking for clothes for Inuyasha.

Just thinking about it was embarrassing…

Fortunately, Inuyasha saved from any real embarrassment when he responded with a haughty, "yeah, I'd hate to late to my first _full_ day of school."

Mama Higurashi blinked. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Err, just ignore him!" Kagome interjected. "He didn't mean that."

"You're telling me that—" Souta began, only for Kagome to push against Inuyasha's back in an attempt to get him moving.

"See you guys!" She said hurriedly, while Inuyasha waved and mumbled, "Nice meeting ya."

Mama Higurashi and Souta shared a glance.

Once they were down the steps, and away from danger, he turned towards her.

"Nice family," he jested.

Kagome resisted the urge to slap the smirk off his face. "They're all I have," she tiredly retorted.

Surprisingly, Inuyasha didn't press on the subject any further, and she was thankful for that. There was something else she wanted to ask him about, anyway.

"I thought you were planning on meeting me at school, not at my house."

Inuyasha twitched uncomfortably. "I figured…"

Kagome watched him expectantly and patiently waited for him to continue.

"…that…" Inuyasha struggled to come up with something to say. He couldn't tell her the real reason he'd shown up. No way. It'd be too embarrassing and he wouldn't be able to deal with her asking him even more humiliating questions, because he'd come up with completely stupid answers. She tended to make him do that a lot. It was kinda irritating. Annoying, too.

Why did she make him act and feel like such an idiot?

After much deliberation, he finally came up with something to say. "Keh! I don't have to explain myself to you."

His mood changes were startling, Kagome decided. "Yeah, okay…"

Inuyasha turned towards her, puzzled. "You mean you're not gonna argue with me?"

She nodded. "We can't fight every day, you know."

"That's surprising…considering you usually can't keep your mouth shut."

Kagome inhaled deeply to calm herself. He was just trying to make her mad, he was just trying to make her _mad_… it wouldn't do them any good if all they did was fight every time they saw each other. Especially since he was just as verbally argumentative as she was, and retorted to childish antics just like she did.

And she just did not want to deal with that this early in the morning.

They arrived at the school, and Inuyasha's golden eyes widened in surprise.

The campus was filled with boisterous and cheery students, all smiling and visibly glad to be there. Of course, there were still a few who looked like they wanted nothing more than to go back to bed, but they were overwhelmed by the masses of students surrounded by their friends.

He hadn't been expecting this. He had **not** been expecting this.

"This is weird," he commented.

"It shouldn't be," Kagome remarked, ignoring the glare she received from him in order to look around.

The action caused Inuyasha to see something he hadn't noticed in the past ten minutes.

"Higurashi."

Kagome blinked. "Yeah?"

Everything came to a halt as Inuyasha's hand came up to her face. She watched with held breath as the golden eyed male slowly slid his fingers across the width of her head, to the back.

His hand locked around her ponytail. He tugged.

Kagome yelped as the hair tie slid off, making her long waves of obsidian fall around her shoulders and spill over her back in a playful manner.

"Hey-!" She exclaimed, only to freeze as Inuyasha held the hair tie so that she could see.

"You don't need this," he told her, his cheeks a light red.

A couple of students who were nearby gawked at the scene, but neither paid much attention to them. Kagome found that she couldn't even say the words, 'you noticed.'

Instead, she only stood there, frozen in place, as Inuyasha took a couple steps back and uttered, "I'll see you in class."

Before she could respond, he sauntered off to who knows where. She stared after his departing back, while her hand went up to tug a strand of her now loose hair. She didn't even know what to say. Whatever she had been expecting, it certainly hadn't been _that_. How strange...

Someone cleared their throat, causing Kagome to break out of her daze and search for the source.

She almost wished she hadn't when she spotted the culprits.

Every member of the quartet had short hair. One wore a yellow headband, another had half of her waves put up, and the other merely left it loose in a short bob.

The last was a male, so he didn't wear any pretty accessories. He looked very well groomed, though.

"Look Hojo-kun," Eri said with an all telling smirk. "We found her."


	14. you guys drive me crazy!

a/n: because I love you guys so much, I decided to add in a little Inu/Kag moment. After all, having to deal with Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi (Hojo too?) is exhausting for all of us. :D

* * *

Hojo Itsuki was a nice boy. He was. He was smart, considerate, and an overall friendly person.

And Higurashi Kagome was _not_ interested in him. Not in the way Eri and Yuka wanted her to be, anyway. She just saw him as a friend—a _platonic_ friend.

But they saw him as her future husband. They had wished for a relationship between him and her ever since their first year of middle school. He was perfect for her, they said. His good looks only complimented her good looks, they said. He was everything a girl should want, they said.

And she couldn't disagree more.

"You're here later than usual, Kagome," Yuka observed with her arms crossed across her chest. "We were worried about you."

Kagome realized her words were a trap, so she chose her own words carefully. "You guys know that you don't have to worry about me: I can take care of myself."

As if she purposely ignored what Kagome had just said, Yuka continued on, "It's hard not to worry when you don't respond to our texts. We sent quite a few telling you to meet us at our usual spot."

Kagome made a mental note to delete those texts. "Oh…"

Yuka watched with her hawk eyes. "But of _course_ you wouldn't have seen them since you were busy hanging out with Inuyasha, AKA Mr. tough yankee."

"Don't make it sound as if that's a bad thing," Kagome instantly retorted. "I can hang out with whoever I want to."

Hojo decided this was the moment for him to speak up. "But Higurashi. You do know that Taisho is a feared yankee, don't you?"

Fierce gray eyes landed on the light-haired boy. She was _very_ well aware of that, actually. "Yeah, I do," she answered, snippily.

Perplexed, Hojo opened his mouth to voice his concerns. "Then, why do you—"

"Because he's my friend!" Kagome cut in.

"Friend, huh?" Eri repeated in full interrogation mode.

Kagome was not going to give her any bait, so she attempted to calm herself down. "Friends walk to school together all the time," she coolly stated.

"Do they steal each other's hair ties like that too?"

"He didn't steal it."

"Sure he didn't. Just like he didn't look like he wanted to throw you ever his shoulder and—!"

"Komatsu," Hojo interjected in an attempt to calm the curt Eri down. "I think we shouldn't put words in Higurashi's mouth. We should let her explain—"

Kagome refocused her glare on him once again. "What is there to explain?"

"You must explain yourself, Kagome-chan!" The usually silent Ayumi demanded in Hojo's defense. It was odd, seeing as Ayumi was usually neutral during these moments. It only served to anger Kagome even more. "You must explain why you chose to be with a yankee over us!"

"I do not!" The dark-haired teenager yelled. "Inuyasha's my friend and there's nothing more to say to that! So can you guys drop it already?"

"But Higurashi, he's a _yankee_—"

Yankee, yankee, yankee, yankee, _yankee_—was that _all_ they had against him?

"That is probably why you haven't been feeling well," Hojo went on to say, not noticing how eerily silent Kagome became. "That yankee is hazardous to your health."

"He's hazardous to everyone's health!"

"All yankees are!"

The four began sharing just how much of a threat they believed Inuyasha was, and they all agreed that she shouldn't spend any more time with him than she already had, and they began to chant the same thing over and over again and—

Kagome couldn't take it anymore.

So she ran.

* * *

Hiding in the bathroom wasn't exactly the smartest idea—especially when it was the bathroom that was only a few doors away from her classroom. However, considering that she had already spent a good 15 minutes hiding, she didn't feel like going to class anymore. Inoue-sensei would surely give her one heck of a lecture about tardiness and she didn't want to deal with that.

'But, that makes me a ditcher,' she thought, resting her chin on her raised knees. 'And now I have to get notes from someone—someone other than those _traitors_.'

The traitors being Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi. Hojo wasn't in the same class as them, so she didn't even bother thinking about him.

While she continued to mope, the door abruptly opened.

Kagome's eyes widened as the person responsible for opening it stepped in. "Inuyasha…"

The silver-haired boy scowled. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be more concerned with the fact that you're in the girl's bathroom? What if someone comes in?"

"Well shit then," he answered before strolling on over to her. Kagome watched as he leaned back against the wall she was leaning against and slowly slid down so that he was sitting beside her.

"You see this? I come to school for once and you make me ditch the first period of the day," he said.

Kagome blushed and looked away. "Sorry… but how did you know I was here?"

"I saw you walk in here, genius. I thought you just had to go, but you didn't show up to class for a long time, so I came to get you."

Kagome loudly exhaled. "I don't want to go. Inoue-sensei will yell at me for ditching. In English too, so I won't understand half of what he'll say."

"Yeah, well, I don't want to go either."

"But Inoue-sensei already knows you're here."

"So?"

"You'll get yelled at tomorrow."

"Who the hell said I was coming tomorrow?"

Kagome looked back at him, unknowingly pulling the puppy eyes on him. "You're not coming to school tomorrow?"

"…I guess I can," he mumbled, trying not to sound like those big eyes of hers had had any effect on him.

"You mean…"

"Yeah."

"Like you'll—"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Dammit, Higurashi!" Inuyasha shouted. "Yes! Yes I'll come to school tomorrow!"

Kagome felt better, and all her irritation from earlier vanished.

The two remained silent for a moment.

And then Kagome remembered, "We still have to go to second period, you know."

"And what's that?"

"History."

Inuyasha let out an exaggerated groan. "Why didn't you ditch that instead?"

She giggled, and just like that, the start of a bizarre morning became better.


	15. from a different perspective

a/n: a quick update for my lovely readers! :D

* * *

Due to the fact that they had both skipped out on their first period, Inuyasha and Kagome had needed someone to copy notes from. Inuyasha didn't really know anybody, so it had been up to Kagome to find someone—someone who didn't call themselves Eri, Yuka, or Ayumi.

Fortunately, she had found someone rather quickly. And rather than be grateful, Inuyasha had taken it upon himself to be unappreciative and nag about her note taking.

In fact, he seemed to be more concerned with bugging her than the notes.

"Oi, I can't see," Inuyasha complained, poking her side with his borrowed pencil.

Kagome tried not to slap him on the wrist. "Don't worry, I'll be done soon enough."

"Higurashi, we'll get things done faster if you just _listen_ to me and let me see."

"I said I'm almost done!"

"Are you seriously getting snippy with me right now?"

"Aren't you doing the same thing?"

A girl sitting nearby began giggling at the couple's antics while her friend stared on in interest.

"They're cute, huh?" Inquired Osaki Koharu, the classmate who had been nice enough to lend Kagome her notes. She watched the couple sitting at their desks, side by side, with Inuyasha trying to look over Kagome's shoulder and lifting the hand that was writing to get a peek at her notes. "They're like… the perfect couple."

Kayano Nazuna slowly nodded. What Koharu didn't notice was that Nazuna's gaze was solely focused on Inuyasha. "Yes. Yes, I suppose they are," she wistfully uttered.

"I would have to agree with that—they suit each other rather nicely, especially when it comes to their tempers," approved a male with his long black hair pulled up in a high ponytail. His magenta eyes were set in a smirk—they always were—and he moved to sit closer to Koharu and Nazuna. He leaned in so that he could whisper to the two girls, "rumor has it that they had a little moment earlier in the courtyard, this morning."

"Yeah, I saw that!" Koharu squealed, causing Inuyasha and Kagome to look in her direction. The brunette waved them off, and surprisingly, the two brazen teenagers obeyed and resumed copying notes. "It was so romantic! He stole her hair tie," Koharu quietly resumed once the coast was clear.

Nazuna stared at her friend in concern. "What is your definition of romantic?"

"You didn't let me finish!" Koharu defended. "After he took it from her, he said, 'you don't need this,' before he walked away! He was telling her that she looks good without any accessories! That she doesn't need any of that stuff! How wonderful is that!"

Nobody in the trio realized that Inuyasha and Kagome had frozen in their note copying: they had heard what Koharu had just said.

"This is all your fault," Inuyasha muttered, not able to look Kagome in the eye as he tried to fight off his embarrassment.

Kagome's eyes widened to a comical degree. "My fault? Who told you to steal my hair tie?"

"Who told you to just stand there?"

"Who told you to mess with my hair?"

"Who told you to ditch?"

"Who told you to ditch with me?"

Inuyasha began scribbling in his battered notebook to avoid defending himself. "I don't have to explain myself to you!" he mumbled.

Kagome frowned at his withdrawn demeanor before she hurried to finish writing down the last couple of notes she had left. It only took her a couple of seconds, and once she was done, she handed over her notebook to the brooding Inuyasha.

"No moping," she ordered in a cheerful manner. "Okay?"

Inuyasha carefully observed her before snatching her notes away from her. "Don't tell me what to do," he said, his lips slightly quirked up, and just like that, everything was alright.

"Perfect," Byakuya and Koharu preached in unison. Nazuna only stared out the window the two were sitting next to, feeling oddly uncomfortable.

"They need a name!" Koharu proclaimed.

"A name?" Byakuya repeated, confused.

"Yeah! Like…Inugome! Kayasha?"

"Koharu, this isn't Hollywood," Nazuna sighed while Byakuya began to laugh. "I like that prospect!" The dark haired male said as he turned over to look at Inuyasha and Kagome.

"Kayasha!" He called.

Neither of them paid him any attention.

"Give them some time," Koharu encouraged. "I have no doubts that they'll be an item soon." Her dark eyes then glazed over with a dreamy sheen and she clapped her hands together. "Hopefully around the same time Miroku-sama and I become a couple, too!"

Nazuna patted her arm to break her good friend out of her daydream. "You do know he and Suzuki-senpai are dating, right?"

Byakuya nodded. "Another power couple." At that moment, Kagome stood and made her way over to them, Koharu's notebook in hand.

"Done already?" Koharu probed with a smile.

Kagome returned it. "Yeah. Thank you."

"No," Byakuya interrupted before Koharu could respond, "thank _you_ for your presence, Kagome-_hime_," he said with wink. "I look forward to seeing you as the lead in the play."

"You already know about that?" Kagome questioned, mortified. She and Sango had only decided it yesterday!

Byakuya slowly nodded. "Of course. But only because I have connections."

For the first time since the entire conversation began, Nazuna appeared to be interested in what was being said. "You're gonna be the princess?"

Kagome tried to look too awkward as she smiled. "Yeah?"

"That's wonderful!" Koharu exclaimed. "You're gonna make such a great princess, Kagome-chan! Who's going to play your prince?"

"That's confidential," Byakuya interjected. "Suzuki-senpai tries to hide it, but she's really excited for this play. She wants it to be a big surprise for everyone."

"That's to be expected from the student council president," Koharu assured with a nod. "Sango-senpai has always been really smart, and she always strives for perfection!"

Seeing that the conversation had changed topics, Kagome took it as her opportunity to leave and head back to her seat.

Her notebook was back on her desk, so she opened it and began studying it without saying a word to Inuyasha, who had just heard the entire chat and was now wondering about a couple of things.

He stared at the silent Kagome as she read over the notes.

'Higurashi is gonna be in a play?' He mused with narrowed eyes. He had no idea why that bugged him, but it _did_.

_Can you act? You know, like in plays? _He recalled her saying. _…not enough people signed up for the play for the school festival this year, and while the princess has been chosen, they still need a prince._

So if Kagome was going to be the princess, then…who was going to be the prince?

'Probably some ugly, stupid…' Inuyasha stopped his thoughts before they got out of control. Then he stood up from his desk and started heading towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Kagome asked, finally noticing his distracted demeanor.

"Nowhere. I'll be back," was all he said.

He needed to get to the bottom of this.

* * *

"Oi, Suzuki, someone named Taisho just asked for you."

Sango's eyes widened as she looked away from Miroku to stare at her fellow classmate, Tamura Kagura. "Really?"

"Yeah. He looks pissed."

"Inuyasha-kun actually came to school?" Miroku asked, pleasantly surprised. "Higurashi-chan sure knows how to work wonders."

"Did you not just hear me say he's pissed? He's probably here to file a complaint against her since she switches moods at the blink of an eye," Kagura argued.

"Somehow, I doubt that," Sango murmured to herself as she stood. "I'll be back." She walked out of the classroom and into the hallway, where a scowling Inuyasha was waiting for her.

"Inuyasha-kun," she greeted.

Not one for formalities, Inuyasha got straight to the point. "Who's the prince in this play of yours?"

Sango stared at him. "The prince?"

"Yes the prince! Higurashi's gonna be the princess, so I wanna know who the prince is gonna be!"

The second year felt the urge to laugh, but at the same time, she felt sort of giddy with how overprotective Inuyasha was being with Kagome. It was incredibly cute.

"You don't have to worry about anything," she reassured with a soft smile. "It's already been decided that I am going to be the prince."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "You?"

"Of course. I told the other student council members about how I cast Kagome-chan as the lead, and they instantly expressed concern over who the prince would be since she's only a first year and there are quite a number of—"

"Weirdos here," Inuyasha finished for her. "Well, as long as we're on the same page, then."

Sango carefully observed him. "You were worried?"

"No! It's just that if she gets partnered with a creep, I'll be the one who'll have to hear all about it."

"Well, I'm sure Kagome-chan will have quite a few things to say about this play, both good and bad. Perhaps you should play the prince to make things a little easier for her?"

"Hell no!" Inuyasha automatically answered.

"Then no complaining."

The golden eyed teenager glared at her.

"You should head back to class now. Break is almost over," Sango informed him.

Inuyasha continued to glare at her. But he listened and started the short trek back to his classroom.


	16. two steps forward and a leap back?

a/n: ahh, I thought I had put in somewhere that first period is English, but I looked and I couldn't find it! :o I'll go fix that now… and the rest of their school day will remain a mystery until I figure out their schedule. :D

* * *

They were halfway to her house when Inuyasha decided to voice something that had been plaguing his thoughts since the end of second period.

"I have homework."

"Well, yeah. Just going to class isn't enough to pass, you know," Kagome voiced as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I _hate_ homework."

"You're not the only person who does."

"You know what I do to things I hate, Higurashi?"

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "No?"

Inuyasha opened his mouth to reply, but shut it due to second thoughts. "No, never mind. You don't need to know about those sorts of things," he muttered.

If she knew about what kind of person he really was, there was no way she'd want to remain friends with him, or even be within five feet of him. And quite frankly, that wasn't something he wanted. Other than his fellow yankee pals, Higurashi was one of the few consistent things in his life—the only person he saw with normal regularity.

To have that taken away from him… he would revert back to being who he used to be, and he didn't want that.

Kagome, a little perturbed by Inuyasha's silence, snuck a quick glance at her friend. She nearly gasped at the haunted look that had darkened his eyes. That wasn't a look she was used to seeing on him and she didn't like it. "I don't mind," she whispered, her tone soft in an attempt to soothe whatever was causing him such distress. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

He didn't seem to hear her, as he continued walking on in silence.

She tried again. "Inuyasha?"

Nothing.

She tried once more. "Inuyasha?"

But he still didn't hear her. So Kagome decided to use a different approach.

"I'm glad that you came to school," she said. "It was a lot more interesting with you there."

He heard _that_. He sputtered, his face turned a bright red, and his eyes darted from left to right. "W-what are you saying?" He stuttered.

"I'm saying that I was happy to see you at school."

"I didn't go there to make you happy!"

'Sure you didn't,' Kagome wanted to say, but she knew that would only serve to either anger him or make him run away. "Regardless of the reason, you still went."

"I went because I had nothing to do!"

"But you listened to all the teachers and you even took notes."

"Because I was _bored_."

"You even behaved when Nakamura-sensei expressed his surprise over seeing you in class."

"Because I didn't want to get kicked out."

Kagome tried not to smile. "But you still went, and that has to count for something."

"Okay, okay" Inuyasha contended. "No more of your sappy talk!"

"I'm not being sappy!"

"You are too! I feel sick just listening to ya!"

"Then don't listen!"

"Maybe I won't!"

"Fine!"

He nearly tripped over his feet at her blatant acceptance. "What?"

The calmness of Kagome's expressive gray eyes slightly worried him. "If you don't listen, we won't fight, right?"

Somehow, we felt like saying yes to that was not a good idea. It was like she was asking him a trick question, or something. So he kept his mouth shut.

They arrived at Higurashi Shrine, and Kagome finally asked what she had wanted to ask since school had ended. "Are you going to school again tomorrow too?"

Inuyasha watched her with vigilant eyes. "…yeah."

The news excited her a lot more than it should have. "Will you meet me here tomorrow like you did today?" She questioned, trying not to sound too pushy.

Inuyasha pretended to take his sweet time in deciding his answer. "Might as well," he shrugged. "Wouldn't want ya getting lost on the way to school."

"I've been going to class every day, thanks, so you don't have to worry about that," Kagome informed him with a stern stare, trying not to lose her resolve over the smirk he was giving her.

Within a matter of seconds, her frown had morphed into a smile. "I'm glad."

"Yeah, yeah, I know you are," Inuyasha responded before he ruffled her hair and turned on his heel to begin his long journey home. "I'll see ya later," he said.

Kagome smiled, amused by his attempt to seem nonchalant about the entire situation. "Bye, Inuyasha!" She exclaimed, feeling incredibly pleased with how everything had turned out.

She only hoped for an equally pleasant day tomorrow.

* * *

The next day, Inuyasha didn't show up.


	17. the sky goes red

a/n: …don't hate me when you get to the end of this chapter.

* * *

"So, absent one day, late the next, huh?"

Kagome remained silent as she attempted to mentally translate what Inoue-sensei was telling her. So far, she only understood "one, day, late, and next."

Other than math, English was her worst subject.

"You do know that attending class every day is important, don't you?" Her teacher continued.

She nodded, hoping it was the right to do.

"Are you planning on making this a daily habit, Higurashi?"

Byakuya, who had noticed the panicking look in her eyes, caught her attention and helped her by swiftly shaking his head 'no.'

Kagome understood, and made a mental note to thank her classmate later. "No, Mr. Inoue."

"I certainly hope you keep true to that, Higurashi. Your education is very valuable, and yet you're throwing it all away for whatever reason."

It took her a bit to translate—and even then, she didn't understand half of what he had told her. "I'm sorry," she finally said, as it was one of the few things she could say in English—she'd heard a lot of her fellow peers say the phrase more times than she cared to count.

Inoue-sensei regarded her with slightly hesitant eyes before he sighed: there was no point in pestering his dejected looking student any more. She had a couple of bad habits, but she was a good kid overall. He patted her on the head and pointed at her seat. "Apology accepted. Now go sit. And no more skipping class."

Kagome nodded and quickly went to go sit down, ignoring the questioning stares she got from everyone she passed. Once she was seated, Inoue-sensei continued on with the lecture.

Even as he spoke though, Kagome couldn't listen to a single word he was saying.

The only reason she was late was because she had waited twenty minutes for Inuyasha to arrive. At first, she had thought that he was just running late, but, after so much time had passed, she had assumed that something had come up and Inuyasha had changed his mind about attending class.

She had wanted to wait longer, but ultimately, she couldn't afford to ditch another class of English.

However, she was worried. Very worried.

What if something had happened to Inuyasha? Sure, he didn't like school, but he still showed up yesterday, and even in the past, he showed up every now and then.

But why would he tell her that he would show up if he really didn't plan on it?

It was so confusing and all she wanted was some answers…

* * *

Only one person noticed that there was something going on—and she wasn't even in the same class. She was just visiting because it was lunchtime and she had business with her.

"You look troubled."

Kagome looked up from her bento and offered a meek smile. "Sango-senpai always notices when something is wrong."

The brunette smiled in return and moved to sit in one of the seats closest to the mellow Kagome. "Only because Kagome-chan isn't very good at hiding what she's really feeling."

Kagome felt oddly amused by that statement. "You're not the first person to say that," she mumbled, the grim smile still on her lips.

"That's not a bad thing," Sango immediately defended. "In my personal opinion, there are too many people who bottle everything inside at this school. That's not healthy," she finished, though the distant look in Kagome's light eyes never went away.

Realizing her junior wasn't in the mood to talk, Sango finally gave Kagome the script she had been holding the entire time.

"Here," she said.

Kagome stared down at the papers Sango had just handed to her. "Is this…?"

"Yep. The script of our play."

The younger girl blinked as she read through the title. "No One can be Greater Than You?"

"Miroku came up with it," Sango immediately responded, sounding a bit repulsed. "It's sort of iffy but it fits the theme of the play."

"And the theme is?"

"In Miroku's words, 'a love worth fighting for.' Or, 'unexpected circumstances but favorable outcomes.' Rehearsals start next week, but I figured you'd want a head start on memorizing your lines. You are the star, after all."

"Yeah…" Kagome sighed, not sounding like herself at all.

Sango decided it was time to stop skirting around the issue. "Kagome-chan, what's wrong? Did something happen with you and…"

She didn't need to actually say his name in order for Kagome to know who she was talking about. "Not necessarily…" she drawled.

Sango leaned in closer. "Then what's wrong?"

"He's not here," Kagome abruptly answered. "He said he would be, but he's not."

"Stuff comes up sometimes, Kagome-chan. Sometimes it's unavoidable."

"I know, but I just have this really bad feeling and I've been so worried…"

She nearly jumped 10 feet in the air when Sango patted her on the shoulder, an encouraging gleam in her eyes.

"Don't look so sad!" the older girl expressed. "I'm sure that something came up and he just didn't have the chance to tell you about it."

Kagome wanted to be optimistic and agree with Sango, she really did, but…

…something just seemed so _wrong_.

However, she didn't want to worry her senpai anymore, so she nodded. "Right. Thank you, I needed to hear that."

Sango nodded—but even she couldn't help but feel a slight bit of apprehension for her friend. And Inuyasha, because something definitely felt wrong. "Anytime, Kagome-chan."

* * *

Walking home by herself wasn't much fun. As much as she hated getting teased by a certain someone, it was a lot better than walking alone in silence.

It was better than being lonely.

"Should I really be this upset that I haven't seen that jerk today?" Kagome asked herself, not caring that she had asked it aloud and that a couple of passersby had stared at her strangely.

It truly was surprising. Inuyasha and her spent most of their time arguing. Normally, she wasn't that confrontational but there was something about the way Inuyasha spoke to her that made her _want_ to fight. Sure, she got irritated quickly, but it was nice knowing that she had someone she could spend two minutes arguing, one conversing about whatever, another one fighting, and another one conversing about whatever again.

After spending so much time with people like Eri, Yuka, Ayumi, and Hojo, it was like a breath of fresh, fresh air. Those four tried their best to stay on her good side, but they did things they knew would anger her—except for Hojo, because he was sort of naïve.

But no matter how many times they made her mad, they were still her friends. They just needed to become more accepting of Inuyasha or else they were going to get one heck of a lecture from her…

She giggled.

"Inuyasha's yankee ways are starting to rub off on me," she joked, feeling slightly better. She would see Inuyasha on Monday and everything would be alright. She just knew it.

She arrived at the street the shrine was on in no time and was just a few steps away from the steps when she gasped due to the horrific sight that she saw: it was something she never wanted to see again for the rest of her life.

There, right at the foot of the stairs, lay a beaten up Inuyasha.


	18. while like this

a/n: this chapter is to make up for the horribleness that happened in the last chapter. So don't be sad!

* * *

He felt warm.

Warm, tired, and he hurt like _hell_. Was there any part of his body that _didn't_ hurt? In fact, why was he even hurting in the first place?

He thought about it, slightly stirring in his half conscious, half unconscious state.

…Hadn't someone jumped him after he arrived home—

He remembered.

"Hiten, you _fucker_!" Inuyasha growled as he abruptly sat up, only to recoil as his abdomen burned with pain and someone yelped in surprise.

"Inuyasha!" The female—because men didn't have voices like _that_—exclaimed.

He'd recognize that voice _anywhere_. Keeping his hand on his stomach, he slowly opened his eyes to gaze into a pair of startling gray.

"Higurashi…" he breathed, absolutely surprised to see her. It was sorta strange seeing her because one, he'd hoped she'd never see him after one of his altercations (especially after one so brutal), and two, she was wearing something other than her school uniform. All he could really see was that she had an oversized white t-shirt on. Her hair was half up, but there was no hiding those long waves of—

'What the _fuck_ am I even thinking?' He thought. Could his brain not process that he was practically swimming in bandages? And that he hurt like hell? No, it had to focus on the girl tending to him like he was her—

"You're finally awake! Thank goodness!" She exclaimed, interrupting his thoughts and dropping the cloth she had been using to wipe his face to grab the arm settled against his stomach—which was also completely wrapped in bandages. "What happened to you?"

Inuyasha shut his eyes. He didn't have the strength to tell her anything—not after everything that had happened. Not to mention that there was the fact that he hadn't walked her to school in the morning like he had said he would… "Were you the one who tended to it?" He softly inquired.

Kagome sat back. "My mom was the one who did most of it. I just brought you up here."

"And where is here?"

"My house."

"You mean you brought me all the way from some random place—"

"It wasn't a random place," Kagome interjected, her eyes becoming teary as she recalled the terrible sight. "I found you on the shrine steps."

'FUCK. FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK,' Inuyasha thought as he grit his teeth.

They _knew_ where Higurashi lived. _They knew_. That by itself was enough to warrant panic and concern over not only his wellbeing, but Higurashi and her family's wellbeing too.

They were now in danger because of him.

"How long have I been out?" He asked, strained.

"A day." Kagome automatically answered. "I only found you after school, I have no idea how long you were out before that." She surprised Inuyasha when she leaned in closer. "What happened to you?" She asked again.

"…Nothing you need to worry about," Inuyasha attempted to reassure her. "I was just caught off guard. I'll make sure those bastards pay."

Kagome nodded and dropped the subject. She then gazed at the many bandages he wore. "Right now though, you'll focus on nothing but getting better. Those are pretty bad cuts and bruises you have."

"I'll be fine in a day or so."

"What makes you say that?"

"I've been beaten up more times than I can count."

Kagome clenched her fists and she looked away. "Oh…"

'Why'd you have to go and say that?' The voice inside his head chastised. 'She doesn't want to know about those sorts of things!'

Inuyasha had to disagree with that. But because he didn't want to upset her any further, he changed topics. He looked around the homely room he had apparently been resting in. "So where am I, exactly?"

"My mom's room."

"Oh," Inuyasha softly breathed, eyes still closed. Finally processing what he had just been told though, his eyes shot wide open and he attempted to scramble out of the small futon.

"What the hell?" He shouted. "I don't want to rest in the same place where your mom and dad slee—"

"My dad is dead," Kagome abruptly revealed.

A tense silence filled the nearly empty room, and a stunned Inuyasha slowly turned towards her. "What?"

Kagome's lips pursed, and her eyes narrowed down as if she was in pain. He had told her something painful about his past, so it was only fair that she tell him something painful about her past in return. "My dad…" she started in a much quieter voice, "is dead. He has been for a while."

'Why?' Inuyasha asked himself as he stared up at the ceiling. Why did he have to be such a _prick_?

_They're all I have, _she had told him once, referring to her younger brother and mother. He should have made the connection or at the least remembered to never mention the subject…

"Fuck it. I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't…mean to bring that up."

"It's okay!" Kagome assured with a weak but sincere smile. "I—_we've_ had time to heal."

'You're a prick,' the same voice from earlier told him. 'A prick, an asshole, a jerk, a—'

"If it makes you feel any better," he started, "my parents are dead too."

Kagome frowned. "Why would that make me feel better?"

Inuyasha gulped. "Don't _friends_ share those sorts of things?"

"Yeah but it's not supposed to make anyone feel better!"

"Then what's the point of sharing?"

"To console one another!"

He sputtered as he tried to come up with something to say. "Y-yeah, well, that's stupid!"

"It is not!"

"Is too!"

Higurashi said something, but he didn't really hear her because all he could focus on was the fact that they were fighting _again_. That meant he needed to change topics—_now_.

"Fine whatever!" He relented, causing her to shut up. He met her gaze for a brief second before looking away, trying to appear disinterested and aloof. "I… have an older brother," he revealed, hoping this conversation would end better.

Her eyes widened. "You do?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah. He's a fucking prick though. He only visits whenever he feels like it. Which is _never_. But he pays for my apartment and bills and shit, so whatever."

Kagome tilted her head to the right. "So he has money?"

"Yeah. I have no idea what he does for a living, though."

"Even if you don't get along, it'd be good for you to know a couple of things about your brother," she slightly scolded.

He snorted. "Like I give a shit about what Sesshoumaru does."

"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome repeated. "That's…a pretty striking name."

"Creepy as hell ya mean, because creepy is the perfect way to describe him. I bet you he collects heads or some weird shit like that and sells them or something."

He got the response he had been vying for for a while now—she giggled.

"I'm sure you don't mean that," she said, trying to muffle her laughter.

"The hell I don't! He definitely has a screw or two loose in that head of his. And if you think that's bad, you should see his hair…"

As Higurashi laughed, he felt the tension that had strained his body for over a day now slowly dissipate.

He hadn't felt this calm in a long time. And even though he was hurting, and he was undoubtedly covered in bruises, and he looked like shit, he felt _a hell_ of a lot better than he had in the past 24 hours. Or the past couple of years, as a matter of fact…

He began as still as a statue when Kagome slightly stood and threw her arms around his neck.

"I'm glad you're okay," she whispered in his ear.

Inuyasha's breathing became hurried as he struggled between pushing her away and bringing her closer.

This was, essentially, the first time someone other than his mother had hugged him in such an affectionate manner. Most females tended to avoid him because of how crude he tended to act, and his mother had been dead for over 10 years now, so to say there were no female influences in his life wasn't a lie.

Also… a hug from one's mother and a hug from a girl were two completely different things.

Since he couldn't decide which one he wanted to do, he settled for just clutching the blanket covering the lower half of his body.

After a couple more seconds, Higurashi pulled away to look him in the eye.

"Don't ever scare me like that again, okay?" She said. She sounded strict, worried, and threatening all at once, and it was kinda scary… (not that he'd ever admit that!)

"I'll try," he mumbled, even though he couldn't completely guarantee that. He could at least give her some peace of mind though, because she deserved it. And as she smiled at him, he couldn't help but feel grateful that Hiten and his ugly cronies had at the least given him to a person he could trust.


	19. a subtle and not so subtle hint

a/n: more facts about the epic play are revealed in this chapter. :D

* * *

_It was only a matter of time before hell froze over. Or the sky fell. Or the world exploded. Or something along those lines happened. Because he had actually shown up to class of his own accord. Everyone had stared at him like he was some sort of creep, but he was still there. Even the teachers had asked him to verify that he was indeed a student at the school, so he had had to give them his name and a whole bunch of other information and it had been incredibly irritating. But it was lunch now, so that meant relaxation time for him._

_And relaxing was exactly what he intended on doing. _

_So, he sat back in his seat, settled his arms behind his head and closed his eyes._

_Not even a full minute had passed when he felt the breeze of someone passing by him. Then he felt him or her come to a stop beside him, obviously staring at him._

"_I know you," the female said._

"_Yeah?" Inuyasha snorted. "Well I don't know you."_

"_How can you tell? You haven't even opened your eyes!" _

_As true as that was, the only reason he opened his eyes was because he __**knew**__ he had heard that voice somewhere before. The sight of a dark haired girl with expressive gray eyes was what greeted him._

_It was her. Ms. 'I-am-going-to-screech-in-your-face' from all those days ago._

"_Well shit," he mumbled. "Didn't think I'd see you again." _

"_I told you we're in the same class," she said. "Taisho Inuyasha, right?" _

"_Yeah, that's me. And you are...?"_

_Just as she opened her mouth to answer, a loud 'PSSST' came from the front of the room, like someone was trying to catch her attention. Rather than answer him, the girl chose to glance at the source of it, as if she knew who had done it._

_Because he was a curious guy, he looked in the same direction too._

"_Those three chicks over there are staring at you like you've got three heads or something," he commented once he had spotted three girls—all of which had short hair and matching evil looks on their looked like a bunch of psychos, in his opinion.  
_

"_I know," she sighed._

"_Are they your friends?" _

_She nodded._

_He looked back at her. "You could do better." _

"_My friends are my friends: I don't care if you have a problem with their traits," Kagome defended, looking slightly pissed._

_Inuyasha regarded her with cool eyes. "You don't seem to like them very much either."_

"_I, at least, have known them long enough to be able to make that judgment and—"_

"_Higurashi Kagome! Let's _GO_!" _

"Kagome_?" Inuyasha repeated, perplexed, and completely forgetting the fact that she had just been about to bite his head off and that the trio of girls were now heading in their direction. "_That's_ your name?" _

_Kagome immediately grew defensive. "Yeah, it is!" _

_To her surprise, the yankee snorted. "I think I'll just settle for calling you Higurashi. Doesn't sound as bad."_

_Kagome saw red. "I'll have you know that—" she started, only to be cut off when a frustrated Yuka and Eri approached her and grabbed an arm each to drag her off. _

_Inuyasha watched as the girl with the yellow headband narrowed her eyes at him. "We'll be taking her now," she said, sounding sort of mad._

_Because he wasn't interested in her friends, he quickly dismissed them with a wave of his hand. "Yeah, whatever."_

"_No wait," Kagome tried to protest, but she was completely ignored as her friends dragged her out of the classroom to who knows where._

"_Let me gooooo…" he heard Higurashi's voice echo through the nearly empty hallway. He stared at the spot she had just been standing at._

"_Higurashi Kagome, huh?"_

* * *

A gentle knock on the door woke him up from his nap/dream/flashback.

"Yeah?" He said, groggily.

The door marginally slid open and Higurashi poked her head in.

"Help me?" She pleaded.

He blinked. "With what?"

"The play! Sango-senpai gave me the script yesterday and I wanted to practice a little before going to bed."

Inuyasha sat up. "What play?"

"The play for the culture festival! I'm Kotoko-hime."

Oh. _That_ play. "Who in their right mind would choose _you_ to be a princess?" He jested in good humor.

"Watch it," Kagome warned, which made him smirk. Something he had learned rather quickly was that Higurashi and her family was amusing as hell. Her mom was nice, her brother was a brat—but still a good kid—and Higurashi was everything in between. And then some.

Before he had napped, they had provided a little show for him—unintentionally, of course. It had revolved around the topic of lunch, beds, and conflicting opinions about who had the most sway in the household.

"When's the play?" He finally asked.

"In two weeks. Preparations for the festival start next week," answered Kagome, now sitting besides him while he remained nestled in his futon.

"That doesn't matter to me," Inuyasha mumbled reaching for the script. "Just means more days for me to ditch."

Kagome frowned, but handed it to him and his golden eyes scanned over the first page. "No One can be Greater Than You," he snorted. "Higurashi Kagome as Kotoko-hime. Suzuki Sango as Kinya-ouji. Hoshino Miroku as Minoru-san," he read, looking at her when he was done for a bit of clarification.

Kagome lifted a finger, going into full teaching mode. "So basically, the plot is 'prince kidnaps princess to save her from a doomed and unwanted arranged marriage, then ends up falling in love with her.'"

"That's original," Inuyasha sarcastically remarked. "So Hoshino is the—"

"—person Kotoko-hime is supposed to marry. I was told he's a pretty sleazy character."

"Hah!" Inuyasha laughed. "Perfect for him, then. It's only right that a sleazy person play a sleazy character."

Kagome appeared to be amused too. "I'm pretty sure that's what Sango-senpai's intentions were."

Inuyasha snorted in amusement once again as he continued read over the cast. He honestly didn't recognize any of the other names, so once he was done, he glanced at Kagome.

"So what do you want me to do?" He asked her.

"Just read a line for me?" She requested, blinking her big gray eyes at him.

"You…you start off," Inuyasha relented.

A wide smile came across Higurashi's face as she nodded, grabbed the script, and flipped it to a random page in the middle. "I will not flounder!" She proclaimed.

"That's not the first line of the play!" Inuyasha noted, confused.

"What? Oh. Sorry, it helps me if I don't start with the first line. It's a weird memorization technique of mine," Kagome revealed.

Inuyasha grumbled to himself and glanced at the script once more. There were a hundred things he could say to her at that moment, but he chose silence. He gestured for her to continue.

"Okay!" Kagome cleared her throat. "I will not flounder!"

Inuyasha stared at the lines. "…You've gotta be kidding me. '_But my heart leaps at the sound of your voice. Do not turn me away_.'" He voiced in a monotone before he turned towards her. "Who wrote this shit?"

Kagome blinked. "What's wrong with it?"

"It's so _stupid_! I can't believe I just read that!"

Rather than argue with him, Kagome chose to think of another way they could make this work. Her expression became thoughtful as she offered, "Maybe I should get Souta to practice with me and you can critique my performance?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Higurashi, do I look like a critic?"

His breathe caught in his throat when she threw him a smirk and said, "yeah, definitely," before she sprung up in order to search for her brother.

"Wait right here, I'll go get Souta!" She told him, and as she left, Inuyasha just had to wonder why the hell his brain was going into overdrive.

'No, this is good!' the voice in his head that usually insulted him exclaimed. 'This is a step in the right direction!'

'And where exactly _is_ the right direction?' Inuyasha asked that irritating voice.

He didn't get an answer, and as Kagome entered the room again, kid brother in tow, he couldn't help but think of the many things implied by that stupid voice.


	20. they call this home

a/n: …who else only has one week of vacation left? T^T

* * *

"I meant to tell you this earlier, but you look sorta cool. With all the bandages and stuff I mean."

Inuyasha blinked and slowly looked away from the food sitting in front of him to regard the twelve year old watching him with lazy eyes and with the typical attitude of a preteen.

"Thank you?" He said in more of a questioning tone than a welcoming one.

Higurashi's kid brother shrugged, the gesture looking slightly awkward with the way he was draped over the table. "You're welcome."

No matter how nonchalant the boy was about it, it still felt nice to be complimented. No matter how strange the compliment was. Perhaps he should return the gesture. "…Your acting skills," Inuyasha cleared his throat, "were pretty cool."

Souta snorted. "Not really. But they're better than my sister's."

Inuyasha grinned at that. "That's true."

"She'll make everyone cry with her lousy acting. Or laugh," the boy continued.

"That's fine. The audience will need something to react to when they realize how stupid the play is," Inuyasha stated with a chuckle, and Souta couldn't help but laugh too.

"I'll have you guys know that I heard that," Higurashi said as she finally decided to show herself. She came down the stairs directly across from where they were going to eat, a stingy frown on her face.

Inuyasha couldn't help but stare at her attire once she entered the sitting area and went to her spot at the table. She was wearing a light green dress with flowers (had he mentioned how odd it was to see her wearing anything but the school uniform?), and her hair was half up. As she sat down at his left and he got a better look at her, he supposed it wasn't a bad odd...

She didn't notice him staring but Souta sure did.

"I hope you all are prepared to eat a feast tonight. I'm afraid I made a bit too much," commented Mama Higurashi as she joined the teenagers.

"Which you did on purpose," Souta whispered to himself, missing the glare Kagome threw in his direction.

Now that they were all seated, Inuyasha realized two things.

One, the Higurashi family was dressed all nice while he looked ridiculous, wrapped up in bandages like a mummy - he didn't look "_cool_" at all.

Two, this was the first time he was going to eat dinner at a table that _wasn't_ empty.

Higurashi and her brother sat closest to him on opposite sides, and Ikuko-san (he had _finally_ managed to get her name out of her) was sitting across from him. All the seats were filled, and he recognized that this would probably be the first time in a long time they were going to eat at a full table too.

Lost in his musings, he didn't notice that three pairs of—two gray, one brown—were all staring at him expectantly until Ikuko cleared her throat.

Inuyasha looked from one face to another, wondering what the eager expressions were about.

"You go ahead and take the first bite," Higurashi encouraged with a smile.

"You're the guest," Souta added with his own grin.

He felt something in his throat constrict. All this hospitality, all this warmth… it was more than he could ever ask for. Not wanting to spoil the good atmosphere with any of his lame responses, he settled for gripping his chopsticks, uttered a quick, "itadakimasu," and brought the bowl of rice to his lips. He took one big whiff of the delicious smelling meal before he began shoveling food in his mouth. Nothing was spared—he went ahead and consumed the rice, salad and fish all in one go.

Both Kagome and Souta watched, surprised at his appetite and lack of manners.

"When was the last time you ate?" Souta asked him, flinching when the yankee looked up, causing some rice to fly in his direction.

Inuyasha stopped eating to muse over that.

"Sometime on Thursday, probably," he honestly answered.

"You poor boy!" Ikuko exclaimed, all but appalled by the news, "by all means, please eat to your heart's content!"

He didn't need to be told twice. Inuyasha nodded his thanks and resumed eating like a barbarian.

Seeing as their guest enjoying his meal, the Higurashis began eating too—though at a more humanly pace.

The first half of dinner was spent in a comfortable silence. And then Ikuko decided to bring up a subject bound to end in a shouting match—unintentionally, of course.

"So, Souta, what did you get on your math test?"

Souta lowered his bowl of rice and with his eyes closed, he answered, "a 92."

Inuyasha stared on in shock while Kagome raised an eyebrow without bothering to look up from her food.

"I thought you were aiming for 100," she teased.

"Yeah, but 92 is good enough. It should be noted that at least _one_ of us is good at math."

The small jest had the desired effect. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Kagome asked, gray eyes slightly narrowed.

Souta didn't miss a beat in answering, "It means you're inferior to me. And jealous."

The glare became a wide eyed stare. "Of what?!"

"Of my math skills. You only _wish_ you could score a 92 on a math test."

Kagome placed her bowl and chopsticks down. This was an argument she wouldn't lose! "I'll have _you_ know that I could get a 92 on a math test if I really tried! I could!"

Souta leaned towards Inuyasha. "She says that but who is she kidding?"

Inuyasha grinned. "Right?"

Kagome glared at them. "I heard that!"

"Now now, Kagome," Ikuko intervened, "control your temper."

"Control it!" Souta agreed.

He jumped nearly ten feet in the air when Kagome slammed her palms onto the table. "You little brat! You're lucky I don't get up from this table and—"

"Mama, nee-chan's threatening me!"

"I am not!"

"You are too," Inuyasha quietly commented, noncommittally, and as Higurashi began protesting at everyone and everything, he held his bowl up to his mouth—not just to stuff his face, but to also hide the grin attempting to break across his face.

The Higurashis were _loud_. And funny. And _caring_. There was a warmth here that he hadn't felt anywhere else in a long time, and he liked it.

To him, this was exactly what a family was supposed to be like.

"Are you sure you're not a yankee too?" Souta asked his sister only to cry out in disgust when she threw a chopstick at him, and even though another argument began, Inuyasha couldn't help but feel at peace, and most importantly, at home.

Ikuko met his gaze while Souta and Higurashi continued arguing over nothing.

"More food?" She asked him over her children's noisiness.

Inuyasha let his grin show. "You bet!"


	21. be ambitious!

a/n: for making you guys wait 50 billion years, I made this chapter extra, extra long! Sorry about that. :D

* * *

For some reason, she felt nervous.

It was odd, considering it was her house, and this wasn't the typical feeling one should get in their home. But, as she slowly left her room, and made her way down the stairs, she couldn't help but feel as if… as if…

"You okay? You look as if you just saw a ghost."

So he _was_ still here. That was good.

"Good morning to you too," Kagome greeted as she entered the dining area and found a dressed Inuyasha waiting at the table, an empty plate in front of him. "And yeah, I'm fine."

"That's good," Inuyasha yawned. "Sleep in much?"

"Nee-chan's not a morning person," commented Souta as he too entered the room in a languid manner. He, like the older teenagers, was dressed for school, too, though he looked like he just wanted to crawl back into bed.

"You're one to talk," Kagome retorted. "Go fix your hair."

"Go fix yours!" was Souta's response.

At his sister's glare, he immediately backpedaled and raced out of the room.

"That poor kid," Inuyasha remarked while Higurashi made her way to the table to sit across from him. To his surprise, Higurashi didn't defend herself. In fact, she looked ready to doze off. Not wanting that, Inuyasha decided to say, "Your mom is good at cleaning stuff," while gazing down at his completely spotless blazer. He didn't remember much from Thursday, but he was sure his shirt had been covered in blood.

"You can thank Souta for that," Higurashi said, just as Souta walked back into the room. "He used to get the weirdest stains on his clothes when he was younger."

A small grin appeared on Souta's face. "Remember the crayons?"

Kagome nodded. "Thanks for ruining my favorite dress."

"I said I was sorry like ten thousand times. What more do you want?"

"My dress," Kagome said with a pout.

Inuyasha laughed, and the last member of the Higurashi family joined the trio, two pieces of toast in her hand. "Good morning!"

"Good morning," both Kagome and Souta chorused at the same time with not even half the energy their mother had. Inuyasha hid his amused grin as Ikuko handed her kids their typical breakfast. She also took the plate Inuyasha had eaten from and took it back to the kitchen.

Glancing at the clock hanging on the opposite wall, Inuyasha said, "We should get going." When Higurashi nodded in agreement, he stood.

"Will you be returning here after school?" Mama Higurashi asked him as she stepped back out into the dining room.

Inuyasha scratched the back of his head, feeling awkward. "Probably not. I have to go back to my place to make sure no one has broken in, or anything," he explained.

"That's not dangerous at all," Souta quietly commented, crying out in surprise when Kagome lightly hit him on the shoulder.

Inuyasha chose to say nothing to that, and he fiddled his arms for a bit before he finally extended his hand out to Ikuko in a handshake.

"I just wanted to t-thank you," he said, his words shaky but soaked in sincerity, "For everything you've done."

Ikuko smiled, and Inuyasha could see where Higurashi had gotten that brilliant smile from. "If you're ever in trouble, know that you are welcome here," she told him as she took his hand.

Overwhelmed once again, Inuyasha merely nodded and turned towards his fellow classmate, who was now heading towards the front door. "Ready?"

Higurashi nodded. "See you later ma—!" she ended up squeaking when her mom raced towards her and unexpectedly brought her in for a hug.

"He's cute—make sure you keep him close, okay?" Mama Higurashi whispered to her.

"Mama!" Kagome exclaimed as she pulled away from the embrace, her cheeks a bright red.

When she noticed that Inuyasha was staring at her with a curious look in his eyes, her face turned even redder and she scurried on ahead of him. "L-let's go!"

* * *

"I'm not going in there."

"Yes you are."

"_No_ I'm not."

"Inuyasha," Higurashi began in a warning tone, "don't start."

Inuyasha scoffed, and turned away from the school. "Listen here, Higurashi, 'cuz I'll only say this once more," he leaned down till he was face to face with her, his golden eyes staring straight into hers. "I'm. Not. _Going_. In. There."

To his surprise, Higurashi didn't flinch or falter from his stern gaze. She didn't appear fazed in the slightest. It was almost unnerving, because this was the glare that usually scared his opponents when he got into fights.

Either this girl really was stupid or she really was tougher than most people assumed.

"What was the point in coming all the way here then?" She chose to ask.

"To walk you here!" Inuyasha exclaimed rather loudly, resulting in nosy students looking in their direction. Realizing what he had just said, Inuyasha's face turned a bright red, and he scowled. "W-what I mean is, your mom a-asked me to walk you here. Before you came downstairs."

Higurashi didn't appear to be convinced. "To school?"

He nodded.

"Inuyasha, I walk to and from school by myself all the time. You don't need to lie."

"Who's lying?!" Inuyasha retorted. When a curious bystander paused to stare at him, he snapped, "What're you looking at?!" causing the poor girl to run past the school gate and into the school in fright.

Kagome shook her head, feeling completely sorry for the poor girl. When Inuyasha turned back to her, she said, "Look, you're here so you might as well—"

"No!"

"Stop being so stubborn!"

"_I'm_ stubborn? You're the one—"

"Inuyasha-kun!"

The two teenagers stopped arguing to face the newcomer who looked absolutely _pleased_ with the fact that the rebellious, handsome Inuyasha was standing before her.

But, it just so happened that Inuyasha wasn't very good at remembering names. "Who the hell are you?"

He yelped in surprise when Higurashi yanked his ear and pulled him down so that she could whisper, "that's Kayano Nazuna! Remember the day of the notes? She was there!"

He tried to, but he didn't remember much. "No," he honestly replied.

Kagome frowned but unhanded him.

Somewhat perplexed—but not really caring about the little display she had just seen—Nazuna chose to direct Inuyasha's attention back onto her. She saw this as the perfect opportunity to get Inuyasha to see that she was interested in him! That she was the better choice for him! So, she bashfully suggested, "Let's walk to class together?"

"Fine with me," Inuyasha agreed, putting up no fight. Nazuna eagerly smiled, and took a step closer to him. It had to be a sign. _A sign in her favor_. He had fought with Kagome so vigorously, and yet when she, Nazuna, suggested that they go to class, he had approved without a second thought!

She did a victory dance in her head. '_In your face, Kagome_!'

"Oi, Nazuna! You coming or what?"

Said girl broke out of her daydream and looked around in a daze. "Hm?"

To her shock, Inuyasha and Kagome were already at the front entrance of the school—_standing_ _side by side—_and looking back at her.

They had gone on ahead without her!

"Please wait for me!" She cried while running to catch up to them.

* * *

Everyone was busy. The classroom was filled with chatter and excitement as the students planned, and decorated, and constructed things for the Cultural Festival. And Inuyasha wanted no part of it.

However, he couldn't necessarily leave, because Nazuna was all but pressing herself against his arm, and Higurashi was too preoccupied praising the place to help.

"Inuyasha-kun," the dark eyed girl started, shyly, "I'm glad that you decided to come to school today. I was really worried that something bad had happened to you."

Kagome heard _that_, and silently watched with careful eyes as Inuyasha grumbled and looked away while rubbing the back of his head.

"N-nothing could happen to me!" The yankee declared. For obvious reasons, he did not mention just why exactly he had been absent. "I have the right to choose when I come or don't come to class."

Koharu, who was doing small jobs and had decided to join her friend in speaking to Kagome and Inuyasha, poked her head into the mock circle. "Oh, but Taisho-kun! You should at least give a heads up or something when you're not going to attend class! Kagome-chan was _so_ worried about you."

Nazuna stiffened, jealousy overtaking her entire body as Inuyasha turned towards Kagome.

"Is that so?" He smirked.

To Nazuna's astonishment, Kagome merely blushed and looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn't.

She was saved though by the arrival of another classmate.

"Ah, Kagyasha! Still going strong, I see."

"What kind of terrible nickname is that?!" Both Inuyasha and Kagome demanded in sync as the ever charming Byakuya joined their group.

"It's not terrible. Every couple has one," he claimed.

"C-couple?!" Inuyasha exclaimed while Kagome merely looked away.

At Byakuya's probing gaze, he stood. "I'm leaving."

"No you're not," Kagome retorted while latching onto his arm. "You have to help!"

"I think it's okay for him to leave, Kagome-hime," Byakuya affirmed. "After all, it's not like he's going to be able to talk to you much."

Kagome blinked. "Why's that?"

"Because you," he said as he poked her on the forehead, "are needed in the auditorium."

The confusion on Kagome's face only grew. "For?"

Byakuya frowned. "The princess seems to have forgotten that she has a very important event coming up."

It hit her then. "Oh! I'll be leaving then," Kagome remarked as she stood and began heading towards the door. Before she stepped out, she glanced back at Inuyasha.

"You'll be fine without me, right?" She asked him.

He scoffed. "Just hurry up and go."

She smiled all-knowingly and left.

Inuyasha awkwardly sat there for a brief second before he got up and followed right after her.

Koharu stopped in her tracks, markers and poster paper in her hands.

"Like a lost puppy," she dreamily sighed.

Byakuya snuck a glance at the dejected looking Nazuna. "More like a devoted one."


	22. what friends are for

a/n: readers, reviewers, you all make me so happy! X)

* * *

"Maybe if I embrace Higurashi-chan—"

"No."

"Then, if I gently grab her arm—"

"NO."

"Perhaps Higurashi-chan should leap into my arms, and—!"

"_Hell_ no!"

Not believing that all his ideas had been rejected thus far, Miroku turned towards a peeved Sango. "What do you think?"

Before Sango could even answer, Inuyasha butt in once again. "She thinks—"

"Inuyasha," an exasperated Kagome called at the same time Sango said, "I can think for myself, thank you."

Some of the other students involved in the play merely watched the spectacle in amusement, while others watched in exasperation. An hour had passed and they had still yet to get _anywhere_. If the rest of the week went on like this, they were going to be in trouble.

Miroku, who was normally a good-natured guy, had his limits, too. "If I recall, Inuyasha-kun, you're not a part of this production. Therefore, you have no say," he said, his smile looking a little forced.

"Higurashi invited me!" Inuyasha immediately countered. "I have plenty of say."

Kagome's eyes widened at the lie. "What?!" She most certainly hadn't! She hadn't even been halfway to the auditorium when she realized Inuyasha had been following her, and because she really had no reason to not allow him to, she had let him come along.

'If I had known he was going to be so difficult…' she mentally trailed off while her eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Miroku, knock it off," finally chimed in Sango. "Just read your lines—_without laying a finger on Kagome-chan_—and we'll go from there."

The second year let out a dejected sigh and nodded. "Alright."

Seeing that the mock play was about to start, Inuyasha (with a final warning glare to Miroku) jumped off the stage, and strolled towards a seat in the front row.

Considering the cast, this was no doubt going to be amusing.

Seeing that everyone was in place, a bored-sounding Kagura began, "In a land far, far away from here, there lived a princess named Kotoko. She was kind, and gentle, but she was also very lonely. Wanting to cure his daughter's sadness, her father arranged a marriage between her and the richest man in the village. However, his plans regarding his daughter were forever altered when the prince of a rival country laid eyes on the princess…"

With that, Miroku made his way onto the stage. "It is on this lovely day that I would like to announce the world of my engagement to the lovely Kotoko-hime!"

* * *

"That was exhausting…"

"You're telling me."

Throwing the silver-haired teen sitting beside her an annoyed glare, Kagome remarked, "if I remember correctly, all you did was laugh!"

"'cuz you guys were _terrible_," Inuyasha countered. As Higurashi's glare intensified, he conceded a little. "At the least, if people actually go to see the play, they won't be pissed at the lack of talent because they'll be too busy laughing their asses off."

"Is that supposed to be encouraging?" She sighed before taking another bite of her lunch. She was finally on lunch break after a largely unsuccessful morning, and to get away from the chaos, she and Inuyasha had slipped off to the gym to eat their lunch in peace, where more preparation for the festival was taking place, but it was still more tame than what was going on in the auditorium at the moment. Sad as it was, Inuyasha did have a point: they were going to have to rehearse like crazy in order to make the play look at least somewhat decent.

It was going to be an incredibly long week.

Pushing all those worries aside for the moment, she turned to face Inuyasha. This was the perfect chance to ask him what she had been wondering about all morning, since they had left her house. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed she was staring.

"Were you serious when you said you were going to go back home?" She asked him.

Inuyasha's expression became even more befuddled. "Yeah? Where else am I gonna go?"

She bit her lip in thought, then glanced down at her half eaten bento. "I'll go with you," she said, resolve resolute.

Inuyasha immediately protested. "The hell you will! Someone could have snuck in and set traps all over the place!"

"That's even more reason for me to go!" Was Kagome's response. "What if something happens to you? Two is better than one!"

"That doesn't apply to this situation!"

"Why?"

"Because it's too dangerous! People play dirty all the time and there's a big chance those creeps from Thursday are just waiting for me to get back so they can jump me again!"

Higurashi shook her head. "I won't let that happen! We can come up with a plan, and we'll beat them at their game!"

"Don't be ridiculous!"

His face flushed red when Higurashi suddenly leaned in closer to him. "I'm not being ridiculous! I just want to make sure that nothing happens to you! Is that wrong?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "No, but—"

"Then I'm _going_," Kagome concluded. Then, for good measure, she added, "And nothing you say can stop me."

Stubborn. Higurashi Kagome was insanely stubborn, and she drove him crazy sometimes. Still, he'd be lying if he said he didn't appreciate it...

"Keh! Don't cry later when you end up getting scared," He said. Right after, the smallest of smiles appeared on his face. "Thanks."

Higurashi merely smiled in return.


	23. gathering of the misfits

a/n: prepare yourselves for some craziness! :D

* * *

They weren't in a nice part of town. It wasn't the worst, but it wasn't a place one wanted to walk alone at night. The houses and apartment complexes were old and in urgent need of repair, and the alleyways gave off a creepy vibe, as if there was somebody watching from the shadows.

Kagome made sure to stay close to Inuyasha as they walked through the eerily quiet streets. He noticed, of course, but chose not to say anything about it.

After a 15 minute walk from the school, they arrived at a shabby looking apartment building. The dull red paint was chipping off, and the windows looked as if they needed a good wash.

For some reason, Inuyasha felt embarrassed that Higurashi was seeing his ugly dwelling, especially since she herself lived in such a warm, welcoming home. His place practically screamed 'Don't bother coming in here.' He cleared his throat. "Before you say anything, I know this place looks like shit," he mumbled.

Higurashi gave him a curious look. "I wasn't going to say anything."

"Right," Inuyasha replied while holding the main door open for her. "Come on."

He led her up a flight stairs, then to the furthest door down the hall on the second floor. According to the faded number on the door, he lived in apartment 16.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a key, and pushed it into the keyhole. Just as he turned it and was about to open the door, the door next to his slowly creaked open.

"Inuyasha…" an old voice called. "Is that you?"

Said male didn't even have to look at the person who had just asked that because he recognized the grainy voice. "Who else would it be, Kaede-baba?"

Kagome watched as a small little old woman with long gray hair tied back in a low ponytail emerged from the apartment, and slowly made her way to them.

"Child, where have you been?" She demanded, practically trembling. "You've been gone for four days."

"You don't have to worry about that," Inuyasha told her, choosing not to reveal too much. "I just got caught up in something."

She didn't look as if she believed his words, but she dropped the matter. Then, she regarded Kagome. "And this is?"

"This is Higurashi Kagome. She's a classmate of mine."

Kagome smiled and bowed. "It's nice to meet you."

At the older woman's snort, she straightened, looking very surprised.

"Is it proper for a young woman to go inside a single male's home?" Kaede (who was just a _bit_ old fashioned) asked. "And with no supervision?"

Kagome frowned. "But I just—"

Used to the old woman's harping, Inuyasha said, "Calm down, Kaede-baba. Higurashi's alright. She insisted on coming because she was worried that something bad would happen to me if she didn't. I guess she forgot the fact that I can take care of myself."

Kagome glared at him.

Kaede stepped back, though she still looked skeptical. She knew of Inuyasha's delinquent habits, and seeing him with such a pretty girl automatically set off warning bells. Then again, the boy was surprisingly prudish… She turned back towards Inuyasha. "Child, I'd be more than willing to help you check your apartment. Send the girl home, it's too dangerous here."

Her response was a snort. "Yeah, that's a great idea and all, but you're old as hell."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome promptly chastised. "Don't be mean!"

Kaede dismissed the insult, and suggested, "Then call the police and ask them to check for you!"

"They won't check a delinquent's home…" The silver-haired teen grumbled, then reached for the doorknob once again.

"Go back to your place, Kaede-baba. Higurashi, you wait here. I'm just gonna make sure there's no surprises in there."

Kaede huffed, but listened (though it sounded as if she murmured something along the lines of 'I am going to get my cane'), and Kagome nodded, then reached for her cell phone in her pocket. At Inuyasha's questioning stare, she said, "Just in case."

He scoffed and opened the door to his apartment. Fortunately, the place was small enough that he could see both the kitchen and living room by just standing at the front door. Deciding to check the kitchen first—since there were cabinets someone could have hidden something in—he made his way to the left side of his home.

Unbeknownst to him, Kagome poked her head around the doorframe to check his progress.

Her stomach dropped when she noticed that there was a dark-haired man slowly approaching Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha, look out!"

Before Inuyasha could even register what was going on, Higurashi had ran inside the apartment (at an impressive speed), pushed him out of the way and sloppily _tackled_ someone that had been creeping up behind him. The two fell to the ground, with Higurashi on top of the astonished stranger.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled, unaware of his slip up while he quickly scrambled to get up and help his friend.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the tanned stranger blinked as the girl who had so carelessly tackled him lifted herself so that they were nose to nose. She, too, blinked as she tried to make sense of what she had just done.

The stranger smirked. "Hey."

Kagome screamed and scrambled off him. Within the next five seconds, Inuyasha had run up to her, grabbed her by her forearms, pulled her up so that she was standing, then promptly pushed her behind him. Still cut up in the heat of the moment, he put his fists up, prepared to strike the bastard across the face for putting Higurashi in such danger. "Who the fuck do you—" He started, only to pause as the figure sat up and stared up at him.

"Bankotsu?"

Said male lifted a hand in greeting. "Yo."

"I heard a woman!" Someone yelled from his bedroom.

"Is that—"

Bankotsu didn't even need to finish hearing the question to answer. "Yep."

Sure enough, a feminine looking male emerged from the bedroom, looking absolutely enraged.

"What the hell is go—" Jakotsu started to ask, only to clap his hands together in glee at the sight of the silver-haired teenager that he hadn't seen in _ages_. "Oh, Inu-chan! I'm so happy that you're alright! Come here~" He cooed as he leapt towards the offended Inuyasha, who merely pressed his hand against his fellow yankee's face once he was close enough, and shoved him backwards.

Jakotsu fell to the floor in an ungraceful heap.

"Are they friends of yours?" Kagome whispered.

"More or less," Inuyasha said with a grimace, and his answer was enough to prompt Kagome to move from behind him and crouch down to check on the boy who didn't look that much older than her and Inuyasha.

"Are you okay?" She asked, genuinely concerned.

Repulsed at her close proximity to his being, Jakotsu scrambled back to be closer to Bankotsu. "Who the hell are you?!"

An amused Bankotsu answered him. "Jakotsu, that's Kagome."

"Don't address her so familiarly!" Inuyasha protested, though he was ignored.

"Kagome?" Jakotsu repeated as he carefully studied the much smaller girl.

Bankotsu nodded. "Yeah. She's pretty damn cute, right?"

Jakotsu narrowed his dark eyes and leaned in closer to get a better look of her face. "You're the reason Inuyasha-chan has been going to school lately?"

He watched as Kagome's cheeks turned a bright shade of red. "Oh, I don't know about—"

"I go to school to learn, thanks," interrupted Inuyasha, his face just as red.

"The hell you do," Bankotsu commented before directing his attention back onto Kagome. "How'd you meet a loser like Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha became a cherry with golden eyes. "Enough already! We're not here to play 20 questions!"

"Then leave," Bankotsu answered as he waved him off, which only pissed Inuyasha off even more.

"What the hell are you guys even doing here?!"

At that question, Bankotsu became a little more serious. "Naraku sent us. He told us to come here after taking care of Hiten and his idiot followers to make sure they didn't come and try to set like a death trap or something."

Whatever smartass reply Inuyasha was about to throw at them disappeared at the mention of Naraku's name.

"Wh-what do you mean by taking care of?" He asked instead.

"Inu-chan is so naïve, it's adorable!" Jakotsu exclaimed at the wide eyed look Inuyasha wore.

"More like annoying," corrected Bankotsu. "Look at that stupid expression. It's sickening." He glanced down at Kagome. "You could do so much better."

Jakotsu viciously nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, leave Inuyasha to me!"

"Hold on—you guys have been here for _three days_? Without my permission?" Inuyasha snarled.

"Oh, don't be a baby." Bankotsu smirked. "We knew you were in good hands when we found out from Hiten that they had dropped you off at Kagome's place."

Overwhelmed by the sudden information, Inuyasha settled his rankled nerves. Before he completely calmed down, though, he asked one last thing. "So, where the hell were you hiding when you decided to sneak up on me?"

"Dumbass, I wasn't hiding. I was in the bathroom. I recognized your voice and wanted to surprise you by scaring the shit outta you." Dark blue eyes drifted back to the girl still sitting on the floor. "I wasn't expecting to get tackled."

Kagome blushed for the millionth time that day. "Sorry."

And for the millionth time in the past hour, Inuyasha bristled. "Don't apologize to him!"

* * *

A little while later, Bankotsu and Jakotsu were headed back to their own respective homes.

"They're gonna end up together," Bankotsu casually remarked, obviously referring to Inuyasha and Kagome. "I can tell."

Jakotsu let a noise that sounded like a whine. "Don't say that, Bankotsu-aniki."

Unable to contain himself, Bankotsu laughed. "Sorry. But it's true, ya know? Inuyasha has softened. And there's like this weird, dreamy look in his eyes that I've never seen before. That has to be because of Kagome."

"Inuyasha-chan has always been a softie," Jakotsu muttered, ignoring the whole dreamy eyes bit. "He just likes to pretend that he isn't."

"That's true. Though, if I had such a cute girl by my side, I wouldn't mind softening up myself."

He didn't want to hear that! Clenching his fists, Jakotsu yelled, "Higurashi Kagome, you better take good care of my Inuyasha-chan!"

* * *

A couple meters away, on her way to her house with Inuyasha by her side, Kagome just barely managed to cover her nose in time as she sneezed.

"Someone must be gossiping about me," she said with a sniff.

Inuyasha merely scoffed at the idea. "Moron. Who the hell would gossip about you?"


	24. what you long for

a/n: it's been so long since I've updated! Many many many sorrries.

On another note, I don't know how many of you know, but Rumiko Takahashi recently released one last Inuyasha chapter! It was created for Tohoku Earthquake relief aid, and it's longer than the standard 18 pages and definitely worth a read. :)

* * *

Kagome threw out her hands in an opening gesture. "…For that is what it means to truly cherish someone!"

She jumped in surprise thanks to the sudden cheer that erupted from the student council president sitting in the seats meant for the audience. "That was great!" Boasted the enthusiastic Sango, practically leaping from her spot besides Inuyasha to the stage. She ran towards a surprised Kagome and grabbed the younger girl's hands.

"You were amazing! I knew you were perfect for the part!" She praised with bright eyes before glancing at a grinning Miroku. Her enthusiasm visibly dulled. "You were _okay_."

"Sango, that _hurts_," the second-year whined. "Please be gentler with your critique!"

Inuyasha stifled his laughter while Sango waved off Miroku's complaints and gestured for everyone to gather around her and her two co-stars.

"We've come a long way," she began once everyone had settled in a circle. "I was incredibly worried at the beginning, but that's not the case anymore. Feel free to take a break now, and after lunch, we'll discuss some last minute details and wrap things up for the day."

A synched "okay!" and a couple of cheers later, the group of students went their own ways.

Kagome lingered on the stage for a bit as she watched Miroku follow Sango, a wistful look in his eyes despite her lecture on why he needed to step up his performance.

'They're _perfect_ for each other,' she thought with a giddy heart. Miroku didn't bother to hide his adoration for Sango (and why would he?), and as stern as Sango could be, she could never hide the happiness that lit up her face whenever Miroku was near.

Their personalities clashed at times, but that didn't hinder the fact that they were one of the cutest couples _ever_.

With those thoughts in her mind, Kagome trotted off the stage and made her way towards Inuyasha.

"You goin' for an Oscar or something?" Inuyasha asked once she stood only a few feet away.

She widely smiled at the comment. "No. Was I that good?"

He scoffed. "Did the standing ovation mean nothing to you?"

He felt a _little_ bad when her smile became a pout. "Don't say that. I just wasn't expecting praise from you."

"I can be nice when I wanna be," Inuyasha defended. He then motioned towards the bento resting on the seat beside him. "Hungry?"

"Not really," She answered, sitting in the seat Sango had occupied not too long ago. She made herself comfortable while Inuyasha began picking at her packed lunch.

She stared at him, and was reminded of something she had observed the day before.

"Inuyasha?"

Too busy unwrapping her bento, he didn't notice the wariness in her voice. "Hm?"

She bit her lip, trying to think of a delicate way to word her concerns. "Yesterday…I couldn't help but notice the tremendous amount of ramen you had stacked everywhere."

Inuyasha didn't appear to be the slightest bit perplexed. "Yeah?"

Kagome frowned. "Please tell me ramen isn't the only thing you eat."

"Of course it's not," he huffed while splitting the pair of chopsticks he had found. "I eat at WacDonalds occasionally."

If she wasn't concerned before, she certainly was now. "That's not healthy!" She told him. "When was the last time you went shopping for groceries?"

"I dunno. Two weeks ago? Last month?"

"Last month?!" Kagome echoed, scandalized.

"I said I wasn't sure!"

Kagome groaned and shook her head. "I can't believe you. After school, you and I are going to go grocery shopping," she declared, leaving no room for argument.

She didn't see it but a faint flush ran across Inuyasha's cheeks. Considering how much time he had been spending with her, it was odd for him to be feeling so flustered at the notion of spending even _more_ time with her.

'A crush is a strange thing, isn't it?' His nasty little subconscious jested. 'But hey—this is what you've been wanting all along! Go for it!'

For the second time that day, poor Kagome was startled by the sudden chocking sound Inuyasha made.

'It's not a c-crush, you bastard!' He mentally yelled. 'She just happens to be the only girl I can stand being around!'

'Sure...but denial is a heavy thing.'

He had had enough of these mental battles lately to know how they typically ended. So, to save himself the trouble, he prompted sealed that aggravating voice in a place where he couldn't hear it. "I don't—I don't need groceries!" He finally stated in an attempt to regain his senses and calm his racing heart. "I can't even cook!"

"Then we'll get things that you _can_ cook. Eating ramen every day is not healthy."

A bit calmer than before, Inuyasha snorted and patted his perfectly flat stomach. "Keh! I'm fine, aren't I?"

"Just you wait," the good-natured Kagome insisted with a giggle. "Keep your eating habits up and in a couple of years, you'll definitely have a belly."

"I will not!"

"Will too."

"I won't!"

"You will."

He'd never admit it but he kinda liked the fact that she was teasing him. Her laugh, her smile, the playful gleam in her eyes...they soothed him. More so than anyone would ever understand.

Higurashi motioned towards the bento (which belonged to her, anyway) lying forgotten on his lap, and he easily handed it over to her. She said something, and he mindlessly agreed, unaware that he had just agreed to a mini-cooking lesson with her.

It didn't matter. He probably wouldn't have denied her even if he had heard, anyway.


	25. be careful what you wish for!

a/n: _STUFF_ happens in the next chapter, so please continue to be patient, as this should be the last chapter in which I drag things out . :D

* * *

Today marked a milestone in Inuyasha's life. He'd **never **before spent an hour at the grocery story before. And with a girl, nonetheless.

"This is insane," Inuyasha complained to a mellow Kagome, who walked relatively close to him. "I thought you said we were only gonna get things that I _could_ cook."

The gray-eyed girl smiled all-knowingly. "You agreed to a cooking lesson, though, so we needed a couple extra things. Don't worry, it'll all work out in your favor because it widens the variety of things I can teach you!"

"Says you!" Inuyasha retorted, gesturing towards the many, _many_ bags in his hold. In the bags were supposed 'necessities' for every cook. Like vegetables, rice, and spices. And right before they'd left the store, he'd made sure that Higurashi only had to carry a few—the lightest ones, of course—because what kind of a jerk would he have to be to make her carry more than she should? Especially since they had quite a distance to walk.

"I told you to let me help," the girl huffed while she attempted to reach for a bag. "I'm definitely capable of carrying another thing or two."

He held them away from her and prepared himself to run ahead in case she decided to try again. "I said no!"

"But you're gonna end up dropping something," she argued, ignoring the looks they got from the people they passed.

"Keh! I'm not gonna drop a thing! Don't you know that I'm insanely strong?"

"Strong or not, you're carrying too much!"

"The hell I am! This is nothing compared to what I'm used to."

That caught her attention, and she slightly tilted her head to the side. "And what exactly _are_ you used to?"

Fighting. Pushing people around. Getting his way. Something interesting about Higurashi was that she kept forgetting that his status as a yankee. Well, either that or she didn't care. Either choice was possible, because if he recalled correctly, she hadn't even known who he was when they first met.

"I can't believe you," he sighed, not bothering to answer her question. "Everyone else in Japan knows that I'm not someone to be taken lightly."

"Don't sell yourself short," Kagome teased, hoping to lighten the mood a bit. She smiled when he blushed.

"It's the truth," he murmured, feeling shy all of a sudden. "Anyone who's ever seen me fight can attest to that."

The blatant reminder of his delinquency sobered the mood, and Inuyasha realized that he hadn't done anything very yankee-like for a long time. He...supposed that was _kinda_ good because he had no idea how Higurashi would react if she ever saw him in that sort of setting, and he didn't _want_ her to see that side of him. He still felt a bit of shame over how he had acted during their first encounter. On the other hand, his reputation probably wasn't what it used to be...

Kagome's thoughts were somewhat similar. She was no stranger to his temper, but at least she hadn't witnessed him physically attack anyone.

She hoped to keep it that way.

"If I have to watch you fight someone in order to know how strong you are," she finally said after the long pause of silence, "then I'd rather not know."

And just like that, she had his heart beating faster than it should. He felt like an idiotic teenage boy, with how jumbled his thoughts were becoming, and how sweaty his palms were getting.

'Go on, go on! Talk to her!' His inner self encouraged. 'Don't let what you're feeling die!' Somehow, he managed to loosen his tongue enough so that he could speak, though it required him to clear his throat. "So, uh, what kinds of things can you cook?" Immediately, he wanted to punch himself in the gut because his question had absolutely _nothing_ to do with her statement.

He felt like such an _idiot_!

"Lots of things," she assured, untroubled by the change in topic.

"Don't sell yourself short," Inuyasha mocked with a snort.

Higurashi took his jab in stride. "Well, I learned from the best so it's okay to brag in this sort of situation."

He smirked. "I think I'll be the judge of that."

If his intention was to make her nervous...it worked! But, her cooking abilities were no laughing matter: all she had to do was come up with something that would prove that to him. But she needed some sort of hint about what he liked…

"So tell me, Inuyasha! What kind of food do you like to eat?"

"Ramen," he answered, out of mild spite.

He hid a smirk when Higurashi directed narrowed eyes at him.

"Besides ramen," she uttered. "Something specific."

He shrugged. "I dunno. I'll eat anything as long as it's not spicy."

She perked up. "You're in luck then! I don't like spicy food that much either, so we won't have to worry about that!"

"That's…cool, I guess." He opened his mouth to say something else when an unwelcome voice interrupted him.

"Hah, well whaddaya know! Dog-boy's still alive after all!" Laughed a male who sauntered his way out of a darkened alleyway. He had his long, black hair tied up in a ponytail, and his sharp blue eyes were narrowed in a jesting smirk. Everything about him screamed cocky. "I heard you got your ass kicked by Hiten and his brother. Even for you, that's kinda pathetic."

Kagome's eyes widened at the fierce growl that erupted from Inuyasha's lips.

Of all the people he could run into, this guy was **not** the one he wanted it to be.

"_Kouga_," he snarled.


	26. you make me feel

"Look at the delinquents."

"Do you think they're going to fight?"

"Of course! It's second nature to them, after all."

Kagome heard the whispers from the crowd that was slowly gathering, and she was sure Inuyasha heard them too. They were in one of the busiest parts of city, after all. However, that was probably the last thing on his mind, considering the glare directed at the cocky-looking stranger. She patted his forearm to get his attention and once she had it, she asked, "Who's that?"

"The dumbass of all dumbasses," Inuyasha answered in a flat tone. "Matsuno Kouga. He's a yankee, too."

"Takes one to know one!" Retorted Kouga, like a child.

Inuyasha took the bait. "I may be stupid but at least I'm nowhere near as stupid as you!"

"What'd you say?!"

'They act more like five year olds than a duo of yankees,' Kagome thought, almost surprised by the revelation.

The two males continued to throw insults at one another before things silently amped up to a more serious level. They seemed to communicate something through their eyes (they had to be rivals or something to be able to convey such ill-will) and Kagome knew—she just _knew_ that they were going to fight.

"Stand back, Higurashi." Inuyasha suddenly ordered.

"But I—"

"Stand back!" He yelled.

Startled, she listened and moved closer to the captive audience. Now wasn't the time to argue.

Kouga shook his head. "Hold on. Why push her away? She could make things a lot more interesting. Ginta! Hakkaku!"

Two males with fairly distinctive hairstyles appeared. "Yes Kouga?"

He smirked. "Bring her to me."

"You're _fucking insane_ if you think—" whatever threat Inuyasha wanted to say went unsaid thanks to how fast Kouga's lackeys had grabbed Higurashi and taken her to Kouga. Worst of all, he couldn't suddenly attack because he risked hurting her.

'_Damn it_!' "Get your filthy hands off of her!" He ordered, wincing at the scared expression on Higurashi's face.

She tried to get out of Kouga's hold, but the male easily overpowered her. She shifted uncomfortably while he eyed her.

"That's quite a pretty face you've got," he voiced with a crude smirk. "I bet you Dog-boy over there doesn't appreciate that. Or you, for that matter."

Inuyasha's vision turned red.

How **dare** Kouga insinuate that? How **dare** he comment on what he didn't understand. He didn't appreciate Higurashi? He didn't appreciate the one girl who didn't turn him away? Was he _insane_?

"Stop assuming things about Inuyasha!" Kagome demanded, shoving the stranger's hand off her forearm. "And don't touch me!"

"Cute _and_ feisty," Kouga chuckled. "Loyal, too, by the sounds of it, but to the wrong people."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Inuyasha growled. "Don't involve her in this!"

"Are you really in the position to be demanding things of me? Because if Hiten and his worthless brother were able to get a hit on you, then you'd better believe that I can, and I _will_."

"Is that a _threat_?"

"I don't have any need for threats, dog-boy!" Kouga then wrapped his arm around Kagome's shoulders and pulled her towards him. "But, since you look so rattled, how about a trade-off instead? You give me your little girlfriend and—"

"I told you to _get your hands off me_!" Kagome shrieked before throwing her hand back and catching everyone (but mostly Kouga) off guard by slapping him.

The crowd gasped in unison. Hakkuku and Ginta gawked. Inuyasha stared. Kouga froze. Kagome fumed.

The silence that followed could only be described as eerie. It did not last long, though, for ill-timed snickers from Inuyasha filled the still air. He didn't mean to (a lie), but…Higurashi had just…and Kouga's idiotic face… He couldn't help himself. He started laughing.

Kouga gave him a death-glare while cupping his stinging cheek and Kagome slowly turned towards him.

"L-look at that stupid look on your face!" The silver-haired teenager gasped in between breathes. "You just got slapped by a girl!"

Kouga grit his teeth, absolutely enraged at Inuyasha's audacity. He would beat that stupid grin off the bastard's face!

"Move!" He demanded as he shoved Kagome to the side and out of his way.

All the humor left Inuyasha's face when he saw that. "You jackass!" He yelled before running towards him, his fists clenched and ready to strike.

"No, Inuyasha, don't!" Kagome shouted, flinching at the sight of Inuyasha digging in his fist into Kouga's stomach. Kouga coughed up blood but didn't seem fazed by the hit too much, because he too swung out and hit Inuyasha right on the shoulder. Inuyasha teetered back from the impact, but continued to throw punches at his opponent, who countered and returned the attacks.

Kagome watched the fight with trembling eyes. Bruises, blood, menacing glares…was _this_ what Inuyasha was used to?

_"If I have to watch you fight someone in order to know how strong you are…then I'd rather not know," _she had told him. She hadn't been lying! Yankee or not, this wasn't how she wanted to see Inuyasha. Seeing him motionless and beaten on her shrine steps had been enough. She didn't want to see him bloodied and bruised like that ever again.

She took a step forward, preparing herself to intervene.

Then, someone in the crowd yelled, "The police!"

"Cop!" Ginta yelled, "Kouga, the cops are coming!"

"Dammit," Kouga growled. He jumped back, just barely managing to dodge another one of Inuyasha's punches. Ginta and Hakkuku were already running away from the scene, and Kouga made haste in following, but not before yelling, "This isn't over, dog-face!"

Inuyasha scoffed. "You're damn right it's not!" He then ran towards Higurashi, who busied herself with trying to grab as many of the discarded bags as she could.

"Come on!" Inuyasha persisted.

"But the groceries!" Kagome complained.

"Dammit Higurashi, leave them!" When he saw that the stubborn girl wasn't listening to him, he reached for her, grabbed her hand, and began running as fast as he could while dragging her along.

* * *

Only until they were standing outside her house (bottom of the stairs to be more precise) did Inuyasha stop running. He did a quick check over to ensure there weren't any unwanted voyeurs before glaring at a panting Higurashi.

"Are you insane?!" He yelled, feeling way too overwhelmed to keep quiet. "You hear that the cops are coming and you _still_ go try and go back for some fucking bags?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Those _bags_ contained your food supply, you idiot!" Kagome snapped back. "Now what are you going to eat?!"

"What I planned on eating all along—ramen! In fact, all of this could have been avoided if you had just left me and my ramen alone in peace! There was **no** point to all of this!"

He instantly regretted his words at the heartbroken look that came across her face. Her big gray eyes solemnly stared into his, leaving him speechless for a moment.

"I just wanted to help," she muttered in a shaky voice. "You live by yourself, and you're always alone, and you never ask anyone for help, so I just wanted to do this one thing for you because you're my friend."

She then lowered her head and began trembling, as if she was about to cry.

Inuyasha panicked. "N-no! Higu—dammit, _Kagome_! Don't cry!"

He sure chose a lousy time to start calling her by her name. "You're such an idiot!" She shouted while wiping her eyes. "What're you even mad for, anyway?!"

"Are you kidding me?! You're trying to take my ramen away from me, I ran into a guy I can't _stand_, and I had to run halfway across Japan to avoid getting caught by the cops! And I'm broke!"

Her wide eyes stared into his once again, and she opened her mouth to rant back at him, though he didn't hear a word she said due to the image of her slapping Kouga making its way into his mind.

That had, admittedly, been pretty cool. Most people tended to not do things like that because it risked angering the delinquent, but Kagome hadn't cared about that. Not only that, but she had defended him. That was what made her different. She proved that every day, too, when she chose to hang out with him instead of her friends.

He let out a deep sigh, releasing some of the tension from earlier. He wasn't _that_ mad. He just didn't know how else to convey the plethora of emotions invading his mind.

"Anyway, the next time we run into that guy I won't be as nice! No one gets away with what he did and you'd better believe that I—"

Was she still going on about that? Sheesh, the girl could talk. Still, her insistent talking did nothing to downplay her appeal and the feelings she invoked within his formally distant heart.

In the midst of her tirade, he grabbed her hand, causing her to instantly shut up.

"I don't know what to do with you," he said in the most serious tone she had ever heard him use, and with his face mere inches away from hers.

"Inu-Inuyasha?" She breathed.

His hold on her tightened. "Kagome…"

Was it her, or were their faces getting closer? Also, what was with that dreamy look in his eyes? Or was she just imagining that?

Just a little closer and—

"MAMA!" Someone suddenly screeched. "NEE-CHAN AND INUYASHA—KISS—_MARRIAGE_—_RUINED_!"

Both Inuyasha and Kagome snapped out of their reverie-like state, leapt away from one another, and turned towards the little hellion located at the top of the stairs.

Souta glared at them. "Thanks but no thanks for the show."

Both their faces turned red at the exact same time, and they looked at anything but each other.

"I, uh, I'll see you later," Inuyasha mumbled quietly before all but running away from her. Kagome reached for him but he had already turned the corner and was out of sight.

'What just happened?' She wondered as she began the long climb up the stairs.

Souta knew of his impending doom because of how silent his sister was being. A silent Kagome equaled major disaster.

'Not a good sign,' He thought, '_Not a good_—'

"Why do you overreact over everything?!" Kagome yelled once she stood before him.

"Overreact? I just saved you from—ow, _OW_!"


End file.
